Married couple saves woman who fell into Cape Coral canal

Reporter: Dannielle Garcia Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
Credit: WINK News.

Heroic actions by two good Samaritans saved a woman’s life. A husband and wife responded when they spotted her struggling to keep her head above water.

A woman in Cape Coral had already fallen into a canal when a married couple Jeffrey and Karen Jennings spotted her and acted quickly to save her.

“I just happened to look across the water and saw something red over by our neighbor’s dock,” Karen said.

Karen realized a woman wearing a red shirt was hanging onto a dock across the canal they were near.

“So she was standing about this deep in the water, and we could just see her shoulders and her head,” Karen said.

Jeffrey grabbed his bike and pedaled around the corner. Nearby surveillance cameras recorded the moments when Jeffrey headed toward the back of his neighbor’s home.

“Ran down on the dock and looked down at her and said, ‘Are you okay?’” Jeffrey said. “And she mumbled a little bit, and I could see she was shaking.”

The woman was on one side of the dock but couldn’t get herself to the ladder on the other side. The Jennings called 911 to alert rescuers to the scene. Rookie Officer Daniel Ochs was the first there.

“She appeared hypothermic, you know, just cold,” Officer Ochs said. “And [Jeffrey] voluntarily just jumped right in.”

A certified diver and former lifeguard, Jeffrey jumped in while Ochs guided them to safety.

“We were getting her to the ladder to get her up there by the time medics arrived, so they were able to assess her,” Ochs said.

It was all thanks to Karen’s sharp eyes and Jeffrey’s training.

“I just wanted to make sure her family had a good Thanksgiving instead of the gator,” Jeffrey joked.

The woman’s family told police they were looking for her for a couple of hours by the time she was pulled out of the canal. After the woman was saved, her family took her to the hospital for further treatment.

“Who knows how she got in the water or how long she’d been there,” Karen said.

“Yeah. We’re just happy she’s OK,” Jeffrey said.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.