Mozelle Lilburn Ridout saved Jeffrey H. Muessig from drowning, Garland, Texas, June 10, 1960. Jeffrey, 4, who could not swim, fell into a private swimming pool, where he struggled to stay afloat as he screamed for help. Mozelle, 16, schoolgirl, who was a poor swimmer because of the crippling effects of a polio attack eight years earlier, was attracted and ran 200 feet to the pool. Although she never had entered the water alone and never without a life preserver, Mozelle jumped into the pool fully clothed. With effort she swam 13 feet to Jeffrey, who then was floating inert at the surface in deep water. Mozelle twice attempted to lift Jeffrey in her arms but each time nearly was submerged. Holding Jeffrey’s head above the surface with one hand, she pushed him ahead of her as she swam 18 feet with difficulty to the opposite side of the pool. She then stood on the bottom and raised Jeffrey so that a woman was able to lift him from the water. Mozelle climbed from the pool and summoned firemen while another woman administered artificial respiration to Jeffrey. He was revived and recovered.
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