‘It was all instinct’

A Winnipeg woman who’s been hailed as a hero by police for saving a father and his young child from the Red River says she doesn’t feel like one.

“I’m a mom… and I would do it again,” said Jayclyn Morrissette, who was walking with her neighbour through St. John’s Park on Aug. 24 when they spotted a young girl flailing in the nearby river. “I was meant to be there and that was supposed to happen.”

Morrissette, who spoke to the Free Press Wednesday after police released details about the rescue, said she and her neighbour began looking for the child’s parents and found them at the nearby playground searching for her.

Morrissette waved them over. The father, who she said could not swim, jumped into the river first and immediately began to sink.

“I waited a few seconds and then he didn’t come back up, so I emptied my pockets and I dived in,” she said, adding that talk about her being a hero doesn’t sit well. “I know what happened. I just can’t comprehend why everybody’s making such a big deal about it.”

Morrissette, 32, said it took her about a minute to get the father to safety before she went back in the water to save the child, whom she described as “lifeless.”

She swam backward toward shore with the unconscious child on her chest, performing CPR as she went.

“She wasn’t there,” Morrissette said. “I got her back with the CPR, and I only did it as much as I could until my arms gave out. Then I had my neighbour take over and then the police showed up one or two minutes later. It felt like a lot longer.”

“I got her back with the CPR, and I only did it as much as I could until my arms gave out.”

Morrissette has no specialized rescue training. She knows how to swim and was relying on what she remembered from a CPR course she had taken more than a decade ago.

“It was all instinct,” she said.

The physical and emotional toll of the rescue became apparent afterward.

Morrissette said the image of the child’s face and her “purple” tongue stayed with her for days, making it difficult to sleep.

“I was having nightmares every day,” she said. “I was processing for that full week until I received a call from the parents that she was OK, that they were, that she was good.”

After the adrenaline wore off, Morrissette woke up the next morning with pain in her neck and shoulders.

“Probably ripped a muscle or something,” she said.

“I was processing for that full week until I received a call from the parents that she was OK, that they were, that she was good.”

The Winnipeg Police Service said Wednesday officers were called to the park shortly before 7 p.m. that day after it was reported that a child had fallen into the Red River.

When officers arrived, they found the unconscious child on shore receiving emergency first aid. Police took over life-saving efforts before the child was rushed to hospital in critical condition. She was stabilized and is expected to make a full recovery.

An investigation by the police child abuse unit determined the child had entered the water and her father went in to try to save her.

Police credited Morrissette’s “courageous and selfless actions” with saving both of their lives.

Const. Claude Chancy said while he wasn’t sure what kind of training Morrissette had, it was his understanding she knew what to do when confronted with the emergency.

“She was able to navigate those waters, and we all know how dangerous that river is at any time of the year,” he said. “It’s a pretty amazing story.”

Chancy said the Red River is not suitable for swimming, largely because of its currents and undertows.

“It can only take a few seconds (to be swept away),” he said.

Lynne Stefanchuk, executive director of the Lifesaving Society Manitoba, said the rescue is a reminder of how quickly an emergency can unfold around water.

“We know that as careful as you think you’re being, or as careful as you think you are, anything can happen,” she said. “The fact that there was someone there to jump in and prevent a tragedy is so encouraging and wonderful. We love that.”

Stefanchuk said the organization’s message remains the same: be aware, be careful and learn as much as possible about water safety.

“It always happens faster than you think it’s going to,” she said.

While the Red River is not necessarily more dangerous than other bodies of water in Manitoba, Stefanchuk said a person can lose control quickly.

“We are always going to say wear a life-jacket and make sure it’s in good shape and that it fits,” she said. “The interesting thing about what happens when people get in trouble in the water, or when there’s a drowning, is that so much of the time people didn’t intend to be in there in the first place.”

“So it’s not just about being safe when you’re in the water. It’s also being safe when you’re around the water.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca