On July 13, 2018, 16-year-old, Douro-Dummer, Ont., high school student Ryan Scott McIlwain responded to a man who was struggling to stay afloat in the Otonabee River in Lakefield, Ont. While on his lunch break from his part-time job as a grocery clerk, he spotted the man who was calling for help. Ryan removed his outer clothing and shoes, entered the 65-degree water and swam about 100 feet to the man. He directed the man, who was panicking, to lie on his back, and Ryan grasped him around the chest. With one free arm, Ryan backstroked and used the current to help tow the man about 150 feet to wadable water downstream. There, someone assisted Ryan and the man out of the water. The man was taken to the hospital. Ryan was nearly exhausted and cold, but he was not injured.
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