Woman rescued from frigid Lake Michigan waters
Macomb County Sheriff’s Office released video footage of a woman fishing off a dock, as she lost her balance and slipped into the icy water in Harrison Township.
A woman in Michigan survived a plunge into icy waters while fishing on Monday thanks to some bystanders who kept her from going under and a police officer who helped pull her to safety.
The Macomb County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook the incident happened around 3:20 p.m. in Harrison Township, about 25 miles north of downtown Detroit.
The woman was fishing when she lost her footing, slipping and falling into the cold water below. The woman's friend, who was on a dock nearby, heard her fall but was unable to pull her from the water as the woman's body "began to go numb," according to the sheriff's office.
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"Two nearby fishermen heard the women’s cries and came over to help," police said. "The two fishermen attempted to pull the woman up onto the dock but struggled as the young lady’s body had become completely numb and she was unable to move."
The woman, Korisa Miller, told FOX2 on Tuesday she was turning and somehow lost her grip.
"After two minutes of me being in there, from the waist down was completely numb," she said. "I couldn't feel my feet."
Korisa Miller was pulled from the icy waters on Monday after falling off a dock. (Macomb County Sheriff's Office)
As the two strangers ran over to help, Miller's friend Melissa Kozlowski called 911.
"They took off my jacket and sweater because it was choking me," Miller told FOX2. "That's why I was in a tank top, I didn't go there in a tank top."
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When deputies arrived on the scene, Miller had been in the 36-degree water for 15 minutes as the two fishermen held on to keep her from going under. Bodycam video released by police shows the deputy dragging the woman out of the water.
Despite being in the chilly water and surviving with a sore shoulder and frost-bitten toes, Miller said she plans to go ice fishing again with proper precautions in place.
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"We did not think that anything like this could happen," Miller told FOX2. "We weren't on the ice. We were on the dock. It was a freak accident; if we had a life jacket they could have laid on the thick ice and pulled me up."
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The Macomb County Sheriff's Office said the biggest key to survival is "don't panic."
"Try to get control of your breathing. Hold onto something or stay as still as possible until your breathing settles down," the sheriff's office said. "It may be a boat, a fixed object, or something floating. Focus on floating with your head above water until the cold shock response abates."
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