George B. Van Nordstrand, 16, ironworker, attempted to save Charlotte N. Champany, 7, from drowning, Passumpsic, Vermont, May 16, 1928. Charlotte fell from a bridge into water 12 feet deep in the Passumpsic River and drifted in a current of 3 to 4 m.p.h. toward a dam that was 175 feet from the bridge. Van Nordstrand, who was heavily clothed, jumped from the bridge holding one end of a rope and swam 20 feet to Charlotte. Both drifted a little farther, and Van Nordstrand then turned on his back and, supporting Charlotte, began to swim toward the bank, which was 35 feet away. About that time a man who held the other end of the rope let go of it, and it became entangled around Van Nordstrand’s neck, and he and Charlotte sank. A man on the bank ran into the water and got hold of the rope, and Van Nordstrand was drawn to the bank. He was unconscious but was revived. Charlotte was drowned.
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