The woman was struggling in the Russian River.
It was February 25, 2024, in Guerneville, California. The water was 55 degrees. A 38-year-old woman was in the river, unable to swim safely to shore.
Gary J. Lawson responded to the scene.
Lawson was 48 years old and worked as a sheriff’s sergeant. Before entering the water, he removed his overshirt, duty belt, ballistic vest, and boots. He put on an unbuckled life vest.
Then he entered the river.
Lawson swam about 75 feet from the riverbank to reach the woman. Once he got to her, the rescue became harder. The woman resisted him. As they continued floating downstream, she submerged him multiple times.
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Lawson kept hold of her.
He managed to grasp her by the shirt and swim about 50 feet with her toward a partially submerged island closer to the opposite bank. At the island’s submerged edge, he reached a thicket of exposed tree branches.
He grabbed one.
That stopped their momentum.
They were no longer drifting downriver, but they were not out of danger. The woman was still frantic. Lawson was still in cold water. The river was still moving around them.
Cody M. McCready arrived on the near riverbank.
McCready was 34 years old and worked as a sheriff’s deputy. He ran along the bank until he saw Lawson and the woman near the island. Then he entered the shallow but fast-moving channel between the riverbank and the island.
McCready had removed his overshirt, ballistic vest, and duty belt. He left his boots on and did not put on a life vest.
He waded about 50 feet before reaching a deep drop-off.
Then he swam.
McCready pushed about 25 feet against the current until he reached Lawson and the woman. Once there, he positioned his foot on a branch and helped restrain the woman as she continued scratching and clawing at both men.
That was the situation when firefighters arrived by rescue boat.
The firefighters removed the woman from the water and transported her to a nearby beach. Then they removed Lawson and McCready from the river and brought them to emergency personnel on land.
Lawson had spent about 25 minutes in the water. He was shivering uncontrollably but recovered.
McCready had been in the river about 10 minutes. He was cold and tired but otherwise unharmed.
The rescue did not end when Lawson reached the woman.
That was only the start of the hard part.
He had to stay with her while she resisted him, while the river carried them, while the cold worked against him, and while the only stable point available was a branch along a submerged island.
Then McCready entered too.
The river did not stop moving.
They found the one place where they could.
What He Did And Why It Is Worth Noticing
Gary J. Lawson entered the Russian River, swam to a struggling woman, kept hold of her while she submerged him multiple times, and stopped their drift by grabbing exposed tree branches near a partially submerged island.
Cody M. McCready then entered the river, swam against the current, and helped restrain her until firefighters arrived by rescue boat.
That is what they did.
It is worth noticing that the rescue became more dangerous after contact. The woman resisted, the river kept moving, and the cold water increased the risk for everyone involved.
They did not simply reach her.
They held the situation in place long enough for the boat to arrive.
A woman was being carried by the Russian River. Lawson entered, stopped their drift at the branches, and McCready went in to help hold the line.
That changed what happened next.
If you reached someone in cold moving water and they fought against the rescue, would you keep holding on until help arrived?