Kelsey Schwuchow

Kelsey Schwuchow saved a girl and woman from drowning, Kenosha, Wisconsin, August 27, 2023. As two preteen sisters fought to remain above the surface of Lake Michigan in the choppy current near a beach, their stepmother, 38, entered the water to help them and also struggled. Earlier that day, weather officials warned of life-threatening waves and dangerous currents in the lake. Alerted on the beach, Schwuchow, 30, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy, waded into the surf along with a friend, another off-duty deputy, and they swam to the girls. Schwuchow grasped one girl, while the friend began towing her sister but released her after a struggle. Schwuchow attempted to swim the panicked girl back toward shore, but they submerged and Schwuchow swallowed water. Schwuchow resurfaced and separated from the girl, who remained near her sister and stepmother. As the waves moved the girls closer to shore, the friend towed the sister into wadable water, and she returned to the beach. Schwuchow grasped the girl’s arm and pulled her to the friend’s partner, who then guided her into wadable water and back to shore while Schwuchow then swam to the stepmother, who was floating on her back. Schwuchow then dragged the stepmother into shallow water, where Schwuchow’s partner and the friend helped her to the beach. Both girls and the stepmother were taken to a hospital for treatment. Schwuchow, who was nearly exhausted afterward, also went to a hospital as a precaution and was discharged that evening.