Anastasia J. Sylliboy died helping to save Dexter C. M. Johnson and John D. Doucette, Jr., from drowning, Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, July 15, 1999. Dexter, 11, and John, 7, were swimming in East Bay of Bras d’Or Lake when they were caught by a strong current, which took them farther into the lake. Struggling against the current, they shouted for help. Nearby on the beach, a man and his adult daughter saw the situation. The man entered the lake and swam to the boys, then grasped them and attempted to keep them at the surface of the water. Ms. Sylliboy, 19, high school student, had been on the beach nearby. She entered the lake and swam to the man and the boys, who had by then submerged. Ms. Sylliboy dived and surfaced with Dexter, and the man retrieved John. As Ms. Sylliboy and the man attempted to keep the boys at the surface of the water, all four were carried farther into the lake. The man’s daughter, who was pregnant, then entered the water with a child’s foam toy and swam out to the four. Having the boys secure a hold on the toy, she swam, with difficulty, to shore, towing them. They left the water safely, but by then, Ms. Sylliboy and the man had submerged. Arriving emergency personnel located Ms. Sylliboy first, then the man, and removed them from the lake. Ms. Sylliboy was taken to the hospital, but she could not be revived. The man also had drowned.
73826 – 8422
73826-8422