Melinda Wilms

Melinda J. Wilms rescued a boy from drowning, Cortland, Ohio, July 29, 2019. The boy, 12, was in wadable water of Mosquito Creek Lake when he chased a ball into deeper water where he began to struggle to remain afloat. A stay-at-home mom entered the lake and reached the boy but during the encounter between them, the boy submerged her. The boy then drifted away from the stay-at-home mom, who was facedown in the water and unresponsive, and he continued to struggle in the water. Wilms, 49, special education teacher, entered the water and swam to them, as did an off-duty police officer. The police officer grasped the stay-at-home mom and swam, towing her, to a point near shore, from which the stay-at-home mom was removed from the water. Wilms, who had a pool noodle, extended it to the boy, who grasped it. Grasping the noodle, Wilms towed the boy to the shore and assisted him to the beach. The boy vomited water, and was taken by ambulance to the hospital to be monitored. He was treated and released, and he recovered. Efforts to revive the stay-at-home mom were unsuccessful.

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