Mary Blanchard
A 33-year-old Colorado woman drowned in Lake Powell Tuesday, after jumping into the water to save her child.
According to Sheriff Rick Eldredge with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Chelsea Russell from Lakewood, Colorado jumped from a moving houseboat to save her 2-year-old child who had fallen overboard, around 2:30 p.m.
According to a release from Sheriff Eldredge, neither Russell nor the toddler was wearing a life jacket.
The release states Russell jumped into the water and grabbed the child, but a “significant distance” developed between Russell, the toddler and the houseboat before the houseboat could be shut down.
A family member took a smaller boat being towed by the houseboat out to the mother and son, and was able to reach them before they were completely submerged. The child was conscious when they were pulled out of the water but Russell was not, the release states.
CPR was performed on Russell and she was taken to Hall’s Crossing Marina where CPR continued for about 30 minutes more. She was pronounced dead after the unsuccessful attempts.
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