Clarence J. Richards, 18, student, attempted to save Althea Waites, 29, from drowning, Crystal Falls, Michigan, July 28, 1915. Mrs. Waites and another woman were in a rowboat on Fortune Lakes 450 feet from shore, where the water was 40 feet deep. The boat tipped, and they fell into the water. Mrs. Waites began struggling six feet from the boat, and the other woman grasped the side of the boat. Richards, who was in his launch, jumped into the water, swam 10 feet to Mrs. Waites, and took her to the rowboat. She held to the boat, and Richards left her and swam a few feet toward the launch for a cork cushion. Mrs. Waites lost her hold, and Richards immediately returned to her. She grasped his hair, and they began to sink. Richards broke her hold and tried to take hold of her skirt, but she continued sinking, grasped Richards’s ankle, drew him under the surface, and kept him submerged till he could hold his breath no longer and began swallowing water. Richards then broke her hold, rose to the surface, and swam to his launch. Mrs. Waites was drowned. 15452-1529
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15452-1529