WINNIPEG – The man known as Winnipeg’s “homeless hero” was found dead in the Red River on the weekend.
A family member and a friend of Faron Hall told Global News that it was his body pulled from the water Sunday.
Hall gained fame in May 2009 when he jumped into the Red River to rescue a 19-year-old man who had fallen from the Provencher Bridge. A few months later, in September 2009, he made another leap into the fast flowing water to save a 19 year old woman. Another man also jumped in but was swept away and drowned.
Hall, who was about 50 years old, was an alcoholic who was living under the Provencher Bridge in 2009. He received awards from the mayor and Lifesaving Society for his bravery, and made attempts to beat his addiction and find a place to live. But he frequently had trouble, falling back into addiction, suffering a beating, and winding up in jail in 2011 after assaulting a woman he had approached for money.
Last Friday a Splash Dash Water Taxi captain tried to pull a man out of the Red River who appeared to be struggling. He was unsuccessful, suffering a heart attack in the process, and the man in the water was swept away. A body was found around 7:30 p.m. Sunday near Kildonan Park. Police said Monday foul play was not suspected in the death, and that the victim had been identified but wouldn’t release his name.
Marion Willis witnessed the May, 2009 rescue and befriended Hall. She told Global News, “He will be missed.”
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