10-year-old girl in Yuma leads Colorado River rescue
CNN Newsource
YUMA, Ariz. (CNN, KYMA) – A 10-year-old in Yuma is being hailed a hero as the Yuma Police Department (YPD) say her quick actions on the Colorado River helped save a woman from drowning.
It was a typical Sunday afternoon for Grace Lyons and her family at the Colorado River, but everything changed when Lyons got that feeling someone needed help.
“There was a tube and it was popped, so I kind of had like a gut feeling that maybe someone is in trouble…maybe someone is drowning. Maybe someone is hurt,” Lyons shared.
She asked her uncle to come look with her.
“So, we look and I was screaming like, ‘Hello? Is someone down there? Does anyone need help?” And they were like, ‘Help, help. Somebody help. We are stuck in the bush…911 is on their way,'” Lyons detailed.
It was a woman who did not know how to swim, and a man and they were in distress.
According to YPD, the couple tried to swim to shore but stuck in the plants and began to panic. That’s when Lyons heard the cries for help and sprung into action.
“We ran as fast as we can. We grabbed a paddle board and we go on the trail with the paddle board and we have our uncle with us and our dog,” Lyons spoke.
Lyons hopped onto her paddle board along with her uncle and began to paddle down the stream looking for the woman.
“And there was this girl…her name is Christian, and she was lying down like this, but her head was up and she was kind of tangled in these weeds,” Lyons added.
Lyons found her, and with help from her uncle, they put the woman onto Lyons’ paddle board.
“She was crying because she was in shock,” Lyons remarked.
In two years of visiting the river, Lyons says that was the strongest current she has ever seen, but she did what he thought was right.
“I always help everyone, no matter…bigger than me smaller than me,” Lyons expressed.
The woman who was saved was out on the water with her family, and they all got to shore safely.
As for Lyons, she’s taking all this in stride.