Former lifeguard recounts daring rescue at Thetis lake
Rosa Kouri was planning for a relaxing day at the beach with her friends and family last weekend. What the former lifeguard didn’t expect was that by day’s end, she would become a hero.
“I didn’t even think,” she said. “I just jumped right in.”
Kouri was walking along the Thetis Lake trail when she heard someone screaming for help.
“Before I knew it, Rosa was sprinting down the hill,” said Kouri’s friend, Anna Lindsay-Baugh.
When she made it to the lake, Kouri saw three people bobbing in the water.
“It was a father and he was trying to hold his son and his wife up,” said Kouri.
She swam out to the trio and started pulling them towards shore.
“It’s messy with three people, so you kind of get pushed under, but I popped right back up and I got pretty close and there were people on shore shouting encouragement,” said Kouri.
“So I looked up at the people on shore and I said, ‘Help, I need help,’ and they very quickly formed a human chain.”
It’s a situation that has played out at Thetis Lake before.
View Royal Mayor David Screech says each summer brings its share of calls for first responders to the lake. But, he adds, this year things had been going exceptionally well.
“This is the first year on record that the fire department has not been called to Thetis Lake and I think that is a pretty significant milestone,” said Screech.
The mayor says safety at Thetis Lake comes with some personal responsibility. In addition to existing signage, he says the CRD has also been stepping up its safety measures.
“There’s park rangers there every day,” he said. “Often for a full shift throughout the day and I’ve seen that myself.”
The mayor said he hopes the rescued family will come forward to share their own story.
“Things can always be done better, so we need to review what happened and take it from there,” said Screech.
While Kouri says the young family escaped without injury, she knows the lake comes with its risks, and says she says she hopes her story will remind other swimmers to stay safe.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.