To the rescue

Jamie Truhn and Guy Carrier didn’t think twice before they headed back into the rough waters of Lake Superior to try and save a drowning woman.

Truhn and Carrier went out to Silver Harbour Conservation Area on Saturday to ride their seadoos. Truhn saw some people waving off a nearby cliff but didn’t think anything of it. They returned to shore to fix Carrier’s seadoo around 6 p.m. It was then that they heard that two people who appeared to have been cliff diving were in trouble.

“Instantly, (Carrier) and I hopped onto my seadoo and took off,” he said.

“We found a lady out there face up. We grabbed her as quickly as we could and hauled her to shore. I did some CPR with another person that was watching. We did our best until the ambulance got there, which was two or three minutes after.”

Truhn said the woman was unconscious when they found her. Truhn wasn’t able to find a heartbeat and described her as being cold to the touch and she had purple lips. Despite both men’s efforts, the pair were not able to bring her completely onto the seadoo.
Carrier had to hang on while Truhn navigated through the large waves.

“The big thing that was going on through my head was getting her to shore,” he said. “I was just trying to do my best.”

The two men later learned that another person was still missing. The pair headed back out onto the water to try to locate the missing 32-year-old-man. Despite waves reaching more than five feet high, the two continued their search and were later joined by police.

Truhn said they just wanted to help.

Carrier praised his friend for being able to bring them back to shore in such rough conditions. He said it wasn’t easy keeping hold of the woman.

“I was just holding onto her wrist,” he said. “I didn’t want to let her go.”

Police later said that the woman was revived at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Her condition has yet to be released.

“I did everything I could,” Carrier added. “We did the best we could. We gave 110 per cent. In a time like that, it’s just a normal reaction. You really don’t put thought into it.”

Police are continuing to search for the 32-year-old-man who went missing in Silver Harbour as well as another man who went missing near Silver Falls Provincial Park.

Police say they will continue their search of both areas until sundown and added that the OPP’s diving team will be arriving sometime in the evening.

The investigation is ongoing.