Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

QUICK ACTION SAVES A LIFE – Sean McGinnis kneels early this afternoon near the spot where he pulled a young woman from the Yukon River last weekend.

‘Looking back, it was a wild thing to do’

Lucky.

By Amy Kenny on October 19, 2016

Lucky.

That’s how Sean McGinnis describes the midnight rescue he performed last Saturday in the Yukon River in Whitehorse.

“A few lucky things combined there,” McGinnis, 28, told the Star in an interview this morning.

McGinnis, an officer at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre, was walking with a friend between 11 p.m. Saturday and 12 a.m. Sunday.

They were taking the waterfront trail past the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, near where their car was parked, when they heard a strange sound out in the water.

“I’m familiar with the birds on the water this time of year, and it didn’t sound like that,” said McGinnis, who has worked in the past as an outdoor guide in the Yukon.

This was consistent. An uhh sound that repeated every two or three seconds.

The pair listened, unsure what it was, until McGinnis heard what sounded like water gurgling into someone’s mouth. That’s when he knew it was a person, he said.

In the dark though, he couldn’t see anything. There was only the sound, coming at regular intervals.

“Which was great because it made me have a bit of a reference point,” said McGinnis.

He has helped with one other water rescue in the past, though he said it was nothing like this.

With the previous rescue, he entered the water to help someone who had fallen off a dock in Dawson City. On Saturday night, he was working blind.

As McGinnis ran along the trail and shore of the river, listening, he took off pieces of clothing as he went, knowing he was going to end up in the water.

Near The Kanoe People at the foot of Strickland Street, he said he still couldn’t see anything, but he could at least tell the sound was ahead of him on the water now.

He also knew that, the way the current runs, The Kanoe People would be his last chance at grabbing anyone.

Past the outfitters business, he said, the current blasts off across the river. So he jumped in.

McGinnis said he didn’t feel the temperature at first. He knew though, by the way his breathing changed, the way his lungs tightened, that the water was “pretty bloody cold.”

Out in the water, the light was better, and he saw the head of a girl floating toward him.

She wasn’t swimming, he said. That worked out for the best because he was able to hook a hand in hers and paddle toward shore until he could put his feet down.

From there, he pulled her up on the river bank and tried to give her heat from his body while his friend called 911.

He had only been in the water 2 1/2 minutes, he said. He didn’t know how long she had been in.

While they waited for emergency response personnel, McGinnis said he tried to talk to the woman, but she wasn’t doing well.

He thought she said her name was Sarah, but now he thinks he misheard her. He knows she asked him not to drop her when he carried her up the bank to a waiting police car.

But he doesn’t know much else.

“I probably couldn’t pick her out of a lineup even now,” he said.

After warming up at Whitehorse General Hospital, McGinnis said he met the woman’s mother. She thanked him and told him her daughter had been having a tough month. She had been in the hospital earlier that day.

McGinnis said he didn’t really start processing the event until Sunday morning.

“Looking back, it was kind of a wild thing to do,” he said. “But when you know someone’s in there, you want to get out to them.”

It was a fluke, he said, that everything happened the way it did and he was able to find her.

“She probably wouldn’t have lasted long,” he said.

“It was special, that’s for sure.”

Comments (21)

Up 2 Down 0

John Berryman on Nov 9, 2016 at 7:43 pm

A cross between Aquaman and Mr. Freeze! You're the coolest Sean. Super proud of you!!!

Up 18 Down 0

Mike stillwell on Oct 23, 2016 at 8:47 am

Congrats Sean you did a very brave thing and you saved a girls life . Your mother would of been very proud of you.

Up 15 Down 0

Wade C Newcombe on Oct 23, 2016 at 8:37 am

Dear Sean.
How proud we all are back here in Nova Scotia.. What you did was a act of great bravery. How can we not think of your dear Mother in the fact she taught you so much .. Heather Lynn would be so proud of her son.. You were where you were suppose to be for a reason. Saving another's life ..Your Nova Scotia family truly thinks of you as a hero.. And are beaming in pride... Auntie Pam cried ...We all love you... Glad your safe..

Up 37 Down 0

Yukon Has A Superhero on Oct 20, 2016 at 6:13 pm

Superman- Someone who jumps into the Yukon River, in mid-October, in freezing cold, in the pitch black of night, to save a fellow human from drowning.
It's like reading about a comic book superhero but in real life!

Up 27 Down 0

Salar on Oct 20, 2016 at 6:01 pm

Man that's some pretty nifty work right there....9 out of ten folks couldn't have used their senses in that way when it really mattered....let alone to save a life!
Well done, you deserve every credit.

Up 13 Down 11

Josey Wales on Oct 20, 2016 at 2:45 pm

gee mark, way to ruin a good thread, involving me too no doubt?
I get your sarcasm Mark, but if that is how you feel...you put too much into my opinions. Maybe your new here but I base my opinions on facts not emotions.
Fact...Sean did a truly noble selfless act.
Fact two....regardless of how she got in the water, she got out to see another day start.
Fact three....without fact one, the other fact via a different outcome would be a moot point.
Hats off Sean, lady use the chance... or assume personal responsibility if you "choose" not to.
Mark you do not speak for me despite your attempts at disparaging accolades (yeah I know)

Up 37 Down 2

karen keats.. on Oct 20, 2016 at 1:15 pm

Hi Sean. . My daughter sent me this.. I always knew u were a special person.. what u did was totally wonderful..

Up 34 Down 0

Mark Sanders on Oct 20, 2016 at 12:47 pm

Sean, great to see you react and help someone in distress.
I do not know if you know this but for Josey Wales to speak positively about someone is like being knighted or being canonized by the pope.

Sorry to bring him into this but it shows how selfless and extraordinary your heroism truly was.

Up 38 Down 0

Wow on Oct 20, 2016 at 11:38 am

Sean, you definitely have some stones man. Heroes are people who do what most other people wouldn't and I can say without a doubt I wouldn't have done what you had the courage to do, and I doubt many others would have either.
If Karma exists, you are at the top of the list for good things to come back to you in spades!

Up 30 Down 1

Amazed on Oct 20, 2016 at 10:48 am

he·ro/ˈhirō/

noun
1.a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
You will be blessed in an amazing way, maybe not today but in the future.

Up 35 Down 0

Bev Wood on Oct 19, 2016 at 11:43 pm

Bless you, your bravery shines

Up 37 Down 2

Thumps down, really? on Oct 19, 2016 at 9:50 pm

Well done, super brave, risky, yes, but I'm happy to know that there are people like you out there. If you put a thumbs down, please give your head a shake. Someone saved life here, regardless of anything else.

Up 34 Down 0

Old acquaintance on Oct 19, 2016 at 8:33 pm

You have always been a class act Sean...hats off to you and bless you for such an incredible act of bravery.

Up 34 Down 2

Gunner North on Oct 19, 2016 at 8:02 pm

This guy shows an incredible committment to his community both in his job, keeping our streets safe and in his personal life, rescuing a person from sure death. Not something many of us could have done. Sean, you are a true hero. Best wishes to the young lady you rescued, too. Thank you.

Up 29 Down 0

Elle on Oct 19, 2016 at 6:57 pm

Thank you for listening and acting.

Up 40 Down 0

SAR volunteer on Oct 19, 2016 at 6:19 pm

Mr. McGinnis, this was the ultimate selfless act that without your intervention would have resulted in yet another fatality on Yukon waterways.

I take my hat off to you sir, and hope that your name goes forward for some official recognition.

Thanks.

Up 33 Down 0

June Jackson on Oct 19, 2016 at 5:38 pm

There is something heroic and inspiring when someone does the right thing without any other consideration other than it's the right thing to do. Integrity at its very finest.

You are awesome Mr. McGinnis.

Up 28 Down 0

Josey Wales on Oct 19, 2016 at 5:09 pm

Yes indeed that was a truly brave and noble thing to have so selflessly done Sean.
That said hopefully that gal digests this reality and does something with her next opportunity.
The fact that there is a next opportunity Sean, she has you to thank.
As a member of this community I for one am glad there are folks as Sean not too afraid to get involved effecting change hands on.

Up 29 Down 0

siearra on Oct 19, 2016 at 4:56 pm

Just amazing Sean! What a selfless act and a very dangerous one at that.

Up 176 Down 6

L Drysett on Oct 19, 2016 at 4:26 pm

Wow Sean you are a hero, a Guardian Angel!! Awesome story!! I pray that young lady knows how very lucky she is to be rescued! Also that she finds a way to heal from whatever is troubling her, reading this story will help her!

Up 161 Down 5

Groucho d' North on Oct 19, 2016 at 3:45 pm

Well done Sir!

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