| A Canadian Hero
Posted: 4/25/2007 10:55:03 AM | This woman deserves to be recognized for her bravery. She would have been heartbroken to know that the young fellow was not rescued. I met her a few times when she was on the same ships as my son.
Woman dies while trying to rescue drowning boy
Merrickville master seaman dies in vain attempt to rescue friend's 15-year-old son from Rideau River
Katie Lewis
The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, April 23, 2007
CREDIT: Photo courtesy of the LaLonde family
Roxanne LaLonde, a 32-year-old master seaman with the Canadian Forces, lost her life trying to save a 15-year-old boy who also died in the swift current of the Rideau River near Merrickville, Ont., Saturday.
MERRICKVILLE - Roxanne LaLonde was on her way home Saturday evening when she saw her friend, Kellie Galipeau, standing in the middle of the road waving her arms and screaming as her 15-year-old son was swept through the frigid waters of the Rideau River.
Without a second thought, she kicked off her sneakers and ran into the water, only to drown while trying to save Grant Galipeau.
That she would risk her life to try to save another didn't surprise her friends and family.
Her mother, Riemke Bles, said her daughter was a "very energetic leader" with a "take charge" attitude.
"I'm not surprised at all that she went in there," said Ms. Bles, paging through family photos as she sat in a rocking chair on the back deck of the family home just outside Merrickville. "She would be the first one in."
Her boyfriend, Mike Barr, and friend Mark Demik also ran into the water under Andrewsville Bridge near Merrickville to try to save Grant.
"Roxanne was a strong swimmer," said Mr. Barr, who managed to grab onto a tree as he was barrelling through the river. "The current was just going by like crazy. It was insane."
He says his girlfriend, a master seaman with the Canadian Navy, had experience with water rescues and was in excellent physical shape.
But something went horribly wrong for Master Seaman LaLonde and neither her navy training nor her athleticism could save her from the fierce current and freezing water.
Somehow, she ended up stuck on the opposite side of the river from the others and went under, as the boy she tried in vain to save was rushed out of sight.
Eventually, Mr. Barr was able to swim over and pull his limp girlfriend, who was wearing only a pair of shorts and a black Merrickville car show T-shirt, out of the icy water near Andrewsville Bridge.
"She was lying on her front," he said yesterday afternoon on the back deck at Master Seaman LaLonde's parents' house. "Her eyes were half open."
Firefighters and paramedics reached her at 6:45 p.m. and started CPR.
They told Mr. Barr to leave and he decided to continue the search for Grant, who by then was out of sight.
Mr. Barr and another man who had seen the incident, jumped on an ATV, drove on a path downstream, then jumped into an aluminum rowboat and started looking for the teen.
"We paddled our guts out," he said. Soon they caught sight of Grant, who had been swept more than 500 metres downstream.
"The top of his head was sticking out of the water," said Mr. Barr, who managed to grab hold of Grant, who was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and pull him out of the water.
"That water was so cold," said Mr. Barr. "It knocked the breath right out of you."
The other man performed CPR as Mr. Barr ran frantically up to the road for help.
He eventually found the police, who came and took Grant, who had no vital signs, to the Kemptville District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Mr. Barr said Grant was an only child who was a strong swimmer, having earned an award for lifesaving, the Bronze Medallion. He lived in Montague Township, on the Rideau River near the Andrewsville Bridge, and frequently played in the water.
It is still unknown whether the teen was swimming or fell into the river.
"It's hard to say," said Mr. Barr yesterday. "Everything just happened so fast."
The parents of the teen asked for privacy last night as they mourned their loss.
After the accident, Master Seaman LaLonde was taken to the Smiths Falls District Hospital and then quickly moved to the Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital.
It was just after 7:30 p.m. when the phone call about Master Seaman LaLonde shattered the silence of the family home.
Her mother, Ms. Bles, and stepfather, Jack Brown, went to the hospital where they were told their daughter was on life support, but deteriorating quickly.
"She always wanted to donate her organs," said Ms. Bles. "But it was too late."
Master Seaman LaLonde had told her parents many stories about her search and rescue naval training that included saving the life-sized dummy "Oscar" in navy exercises.
"They would throw him overboard and see how long it would take to get to him," said Ms. Bles.
Master Seaman LaLonde was set to start a new job with the navy in Kingston in May.
Mr. Barr said his girlfriend of more than a year had a "hell of a smile and the bluest eyes you ever saw."
As the family gathered on the sunny back deck yesterday, looking at photos of their daughter, their girlfriend, their niece, and their friend, the simple fact that Master Seaman LaLonde was a leader, never a follower, continued to crop up in their conversation.
"She was courageous," said her mother, quietly. "She just wanted to save that little boy."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2007 | |
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| A Canadian Hero
Posted: 4/26/2007 11:25:06 PM | Yes, sad a person like that - someone who ALL people could look up to as a roll model and hero passes into obscurity before the lights at the funeral chapel are turned off. Lord knows we need those roll models these days. Our youth are bombarded by the likes of Hilton, Spears, 50¢, Timberlake etc etc as "roll models"
Ya know who I think are better ROLL MODELS these days? The DOWNES SYNDROME kids working in some of the WalMarts and KMArt type stores and the people who hired them. Talk about dedicated to their jobs. Instead we are expected to admire dumchiks who don't wear panties and get in and out of SLR that are 18inches above the ground and you get to show not only your shaved beaver but your ceasarian scar too. Yup. Something for our children to admire and emulate.
Progress.
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| A Canadian Hero
Posted: 4/28/2007 6:35:27 AM | Our everyday hero’s lack the proper recognition, thank you for giving this woman that of which se deserves. We are surrounded by people daily who would do the same in a heart beat, most of which will never be put in a situation to do what may come naturally.
Sharing events and stories with our children of such bravery is very important for them in understanding true heroism. | |
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| A Canadian Hero
Posted: 4/28/2007 10:45:13 PM | Thanks for sharing this, gennienut. There were a number of heroes and role models in this story. With all of the negative that we are exposed to every day about our young people, these are the stories that tend to get lost. But they're also the stories that we need to hear to help repair our faith in humanity.
Ya know who I think are better ROLL MODELS these days? The DOWNES SYNDROME kids working in some of the WalMarts and KMArt type stores and the people who hired them. I couldn't agree more. Every person with Down's Syndrome that I've ever come in contact with is the most pleasant person with the biggest heart. They seem to always have smiles that warm my heart. | |
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| A Canadian Hero
Posted: 7/3/2007 11:25:42 AM | | She is truly a hero, showing such selflessness and willing to risk all to save another. There is a shortage of her kind in this world and it is truly heartbreaking to hear of her death. I feel that her memory will live on in those she touched in her short life. | |
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| A Canadian Hero
Posted: 7/31/2007 10:13:19 AM | Rest in Peace and may the wings of an angel hold you and keep you safe Master Seaman. You are a true hero | |
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| A Canadian Hero
Posted: 8/21/2007 7:48:18 AM | Always reminds me of:
Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for another. | |
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| A Canadian Hero
Posted: 5/3/2008 10:04:02 AM | In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. | |
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