A Winnipeg woman is being called a hero after saving the lives of a little girl and her father from drowning in the Red River. Jaclyn Morrissette said she was on a walk with her neighbour in St. John’s Park on Aug. 24. As they were out, she said she noticed a little girl flailing in the water. “We looked for the parents. We saw them over on the park playground area. They were looking for her as well, so we had called for them to come over,” said Morrissette. She started to head down to the water as she planned to jump in and get the girl. Before she could, she said the girl’s father jumped in. “Where he had jumped, it’s like a seven, maybe eight-foot drop just straight down. He didn’t go down the little ramp; he went straight to the side. When he had jumped, I waited at least 10 seconds to see if he would come up, if he was able to swim. When he didn’t come back up, I said, ‘Ah s***’ and dumped my pockets and I jumped in after him.” Morrissette said the man was panicking and started pulling her under, but she kept her cool as she knew she needed to get him back to shore so she could get the little girl. With the help of her neighbour and one of the man’s family members, they were able to pull him onto the shore. Still in the water, Morrissette turned around and set her sights on the little girl. “I kicked it into overdrive to get her.” When she got to her, Morrissette said she wasn’t breathing or moving. “So I had flipped her onto her back and I put her on my chest and I started swimming backwards. When I was swimming, I was also pumping her stomach to try and get any water that was in, out, just to help (make) it easier so that when I got to shore they could start CPR.” Once out of the river, Morrissette said she started CPR right away, going until she couldn’t go any longer. Her friend took over after that until police arrived. Police said they were called to the area after reports that a child had fallen into the river. Officers arrived just before 7 p.m. and took over providing CPR until the ambulance arrived. The little girl was taken to hospital in unstable condition and later upgraded to stable. Police said the girl is expected to make a full recovery. “When I heard that, my heart skipped a beat and I started crying. I was so relieved because that was the main purpose of me going in the water. If the father hadn’t gone in the water, I still would have. My first instinct was to save her.” Const. Claude Chancy said if Morrissette didn’t do what she did, this could have ended up being a very different situation. “It’s selfless and courageous at the same time,” said Chancy. “The fact that she entered the water, saved one person, went back in without regard for her own life—that is truly heroic—and being able to save the child, bring the child back to shore, start CPR—amazing. We do commend her for that.” For Morrissette, she doesn’t consider herself a hero; she just knew she had to step in to help. “I fully don’t comprehend what I did. I just knew I had to do the right thing, and I knew we didn’t have time,” said Morrissette. Police are reminding Winnipeggers to be careful around waterways in the city and ensure the proper supervision is in place whether it’s a child or adult near the water. - With files from CTV News’ Jeff Keele
