Truro man being hailed a hero after rescuing swimmer from churning waters

An off-duty police officer from Truro, N.S., is being hailed a hero after rescuing a woman from gushing river waters in Fundy National Park on Saturday.

Bruce Lake was visiting the New Brunswick park with his wife and some friends, when one of them spotted a woman swimming at the base of a small waterfall along Moosehorn Trail.

She was clinging to some rocks in the high, churning waters, as her friends stood nearby, unable to reach her.

Lake said her friends assured him she was fine, but she was embarrassed because she had lost her swimming bottoms.

The group gave them some privacy, but their instincts told them to stay close, Lake said.

Sure enough, that was the right decision.

"As she went to push off from that rock, she literally got sucked under," Lake told CBC Radio's Maritime Noon on Monday.

"She disappeared under the water and then came right back up by the rock where she was hanging to, so it was clear that she was in some sort of trouble."

That's when Lake started preparing to get into the water — not thinking he'd actually have to, but just in case — by taking off his sunglasses, knapsack and shoes.

He said the woman made one last attempt to reach the shore when she was sucked under the water again.

What felt like an eternity — about five seconds — passed, Lake said, but she still hadn't resurfaced.

So he jumped in.

"I went pretty deep. I didn't touch the bottom … but I brushed her arm. I just felt her arm and was lucky, very lucky, I think to feel even that and she was still even further below me, which was a little bit scary," he said.

"I didn't know how deep that thing was. The water was pulling us down. I grabbed her arm and pulled her in and just kind of hugged her and started swimming for the surface."

Lake said he was able to push her to the edge of the water, where her friend was able to grab her and pull her in.

And even after that ordeal, Lake said, the woman looked back to him to make sure he could also get out of the water. She grabbed his arm as her friend pulled them to the shore.

Once they were both on the rocks, the group made sure the woman was OK and they swapped names. She even apologized, but Lake said there was no need.

'Risked his own life'

Dave Brosha is now calling his friend a hero. He was with Lake that day, and witnessed the rescue. 

"He risked his own life, plain and simple, to save this stranger," Brosha said. 

"He didn't know her, just somebody he came across and without thinking — or, he probably thought about it — but he went in and he got her and I think it's absolutely remarkable."

Brosha said Lake likely saved this woman's life, but it wouldn't have been possible without their friend Sean Creary, who is from Saint John.

Creary spotted the woman struggling in the water, and his instincts told him to go make sure everything was OK.

"Bruce risked his life and jumped in, but I mean, if Sean hadn't noticed that, none of this would have happened," Brosha said.

Although Brosha considers him a hero, Lake said he struggles with the newfound title.

"I think I [did] what most people would do in the circumstances if they felt they could do it," he said. "I don't like the word hero in those circumstances for myself, that's for sure."

Still, he's glad the situation has a positive ending after what could've been a grave situation.

"It set me back a little bit for sure. I had to do some relaxing that evening with friends, and we told the story a few times, but it was a good outcome, so it does feel good I guess at the end of the day."