COLUMBUS, Ind. — A woman and her 8-year-old daughter are now safe after a Columbus police officer pulled them to safety from a river Monday afternoon.
Around 1:45 p.m. June 15, first responders were called for a water rescue at the park, near 5th and Linsey streets. When the officer Andrew Plank arrived on the scene, he saw a woman and her daughter holding onto a fallen tree in the river.
According to Plank, the woman was shouting that she couldn't hold on much longer.
The Columbus Police Department said the officer took off his body armor vest without hesitation and swam out to the fallen tree. He swam the 8-year-old to the bank of the river with her on his back, and then went back and helped get the mother to safety.
According to CPD, two children were playing on a sandbar when they ended up in the river. The mother went to help them when she and one of the children got caught in the river's current.
Columbus police are reminding everyone to wear a personal floatation device when in or around a body of water.
"The river's current can be deadly even for strong swimmer," the department wrote in a social media post.
