An early-evening dip at Matheson Lake on Tuesday quickly turned into a dire situation for James Dorsey and Marsha Cole when they came upon a woman who had just been pulled out of the water in medical distress.
The 32-year-old woman was taken to hospital in critical condition and died. Cole was part of a team of people who tried to help her.
“[Cole] just sort of blazed in there and took charge and started administering CPR,” Dorsey said. “It went on for quite some time. It was a good about 15 minutes at least until the first police officer arrived.”
Dorsey said he and Cole live about a five-minute drive from the lake and go there almost daily in the summer. He said they arrived at the lake about 6:45 p.m. and had just reached a popular swimming spot about 10 minutes from the parking lot when they heard someone say a woman was in trouble.
He said they didn’t immediately grasp that she was just metres from them, but as they rounded a corner, they could see that people had just pulled a woman from the lake.
After an initial round of CPR, Cole was joined by another person and they took turns at the task, but the woman was unresponsive, Dorsey said.
A few minutes later, a paramedic arrived and took over the CPR. That was followed by the arrival of more firefighters and paramedics, Dorsey said.
An off-duty Oak Bay police officer and an off-duty Saanich firefighter were also part of resuscitation efforts.
Once the emergency personnel were there, “we just decided it was probably time to just back off and let them do their work,” Dorsey said.
“We had a puppy with us and two foster kids, so I had to be making sure they were OK and keeping away from stuff.”
Dorsey said he has taken a few first-aid courses, but Cole works as a veterinary technician and deals with life and death every day. “She’s clearly very calm under pressure.”
He said both were still in shock about the incident.
An investigation is being conducted by the B.C. Coroners Service.
The B.C. & Yukon Branch of the Lifesaving Society has recorded 17 drownings this year. Last year at this time, there were 18.
“Our goal is zero,” said executive director Dale Miller.
He said there could be some “pent-up demand” to enjoy the water this year because people have been stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was another incident Wednesday in Thetis Lake.
Emergency crews were called about 5 p.m. after a young man hit his head while cliff diving and became unconscious in the water, CHEK News reported.
The young man was picked up by a nearby paddle boarder and taken to hospital in critical condition.
