Man Nearly Drowns at Jordan Lake: Volunteers Form a Life Chain to Get the Man Out of the Water. He is Hospitalized
By Matt Dees, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.
May 30–APEX — An 18-year-old man was in critical condition late Monday after nearly drowning at Jordan Lake.
Park officials declined to identify the victim pending notification of his family. He spent more than 15 minutes underwater before being found and revived, they said.
Stephen McFadden, 18, of Apex, who discovered the man at the bottom of the lake, said the man was given CPR while still in the water.
That was enough to get a pulse before an ambulance took him to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
The Memorial Day ordeal came after a 10-year-old girl drowned Sunday at Falls Lake. It was the first such incident at Jordan Lake since a kindergarten student drowned a year ago.
McFadden, who has training in underwater rescue, was one of about 20 volunteers to form a “life chain.” Park officials and lakegoers joined hands and walked out into the lake.
When McFadden’s foot touched the unconscious man, he dove and brought him to the surface.
The man’s lips were blue and he wasn’t breathing, McFadden said. Some of his friends and family members cried on the shore.
“You don’t expect to come out here and have someone get into a worst-case scenario,” he said. “But you’ve always got to be ready to help someone out if you need to.”
Jordan Lake Superintendent Greg Schneider said the quick work of professionals and volunteers likely saved the man’s life.
“The response from the public was tremendous,” he said.
Schneider also said the chilly water at the lake bottom served to slow the man’s metabolism, allowing him to survive longer.
The man had been clinging to buoyed ropes that surround the swimming area at Parker Creek beach, Schneider said. He let go to swim to shore but went under.
The man’s cousin noticed he was missing and contacted authorities a few minutes before 1 p.m. By 1:37 he was en route to the hospital, Schneider said.
There are no lifeguards at Jordan Lake’s nine beaches. Schneider said it would be difficult to find and pay the 60 to 100 lifeguards he said would be needed to watch those recreational areas.
Less than 30 minutes after hundreds witnessed the incident, children squealed as they splashed in the water. The air was heavy with smoke from grills.
McFadden was relieved to hear the man was alive Monday evening.
“It was a team effort,” he said, noting the help of one of his buddies and a doctor.
“It’s a sense of security out there on the lake. If something were to happen, there’s plenty of people willing to help out.”
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