A woman and her fiancé were instrumental in saving the lives of a father-daughter duo who had been reported missing after enjoying a day out on a lake near Tampa.
Samantha Conover and her fiancé had just eaten dinner on the water with their friends, and were headed back to shore.
When they reached the public boat ramp at 8:00p.m. on April 15th, they heard that 31-year-old Christopher Snow and his 13-year-old daughter Alexis Snow had never come back from their time jetskiing.
Snow’s girlfriend had alerted authorities when they didn’t return home, and neither were answering their phones.
Conover had seen the pair earlier out on the water, she feared the worst after hearing they were missing.
“I didn’t know what to think, I was scared,” she remarked about the situation.
A Sheriff’s deputy was at the boat launch asking others to help him search for the Snow’s, and Conover and her fiancé invited the deputy to board their boat.
They set off on search of the large lake’s perimeter and eventually heard someone screaming for help.
The impromptu rescue team fished the cold and tired Snow’s out of the water, and were tearfully informed by Alexis that they had been treading water for an hour after their personal watercraft had sunk.
Though they were wearing lifejackets, John’s was dangerously undersized and did little to keep him buoyant. He was exhausted when they pulled him onto the pontoon boat.
“We’re not heroes,” Conover said about the rescue. “We were at the right place at the right time. We would have done it for anyone without hesitation.”
“I never thought we be in that situation,” she continued. “I’m glad that… We were able to save them.”
The happy turn of events could have turned out much differently, as they did 16-year-old Bryce Brooks.
The Atlanta teenager was on vacation with his family in Pensacola, Florida, when he saw four young children being pulled out into the sea by a current.
The area was unmanned by lifeguards and yellow caution flags were flying, which indicated moderate currents, but the children ignored the warning signs.
Brooks and two other teens didn’t hesitate to jump in the water to save them. Unfortunately, the heroic teenager was swept away by the rough waters and drowned.
A family friend, Charles Johnson II, tried to save Brooks, but drowned as well. The four children survived the ordeal because of their intervention.
“Bryce is a hero. He literally saved the lives of four kids at the expense of his own,” his father commented.
