Paddleboarders Honored For Helping Suicidal Person In Middle Of McIntosh Lake
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - A small group of women who went paddleboarding on a lake in Longmont are being honored for being Good Samaritans and helping a man who was in the lake and going through a suicidal episode.
The incident happened on Mother's Day weekend on McIntosh Lake. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office says the five women spotted the man in the middle of the lake without a life jacket and acting strangely. When they approached him on their boards and tried to speak with him, he told them he was trying to kill himself.
Despite the man's efforts to swim away and refusal to take one of their life jackets, the women with their boards slowly herded him towards the shore as they repeatedly made positive statements and encouraged him to keep living. A male bystander also came over and helped out in the process. When they got to shore, an emergency crew was waiting and the swimmer was taken to a medical center to get care.
On Monday the Boulder County Sheriff's Office announced that they awarded the the five women and the bystander who helped with Boulder County Sheriff's Office commendations. In a Facebook post, they called the Good Samaritans' actions "selfless."
