Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
A Maryland police officer used screw drivers as if they were ski poles, and pulled herself through ice-covered waters in order to rescue a 71-year old stranded pilot.
The daring rescue occurred on Dec. 26, after Steve Couchman’s single-engine plane crashed into a frozen river. Police Officer Elizabeth Myers found that she only could reach the imperiled man via kayak – but even that was a challenge. The vessel’s oars were no good on the ice. The courageous cop improvised with screw drivers, stabbing the ice and forging ahead, inch by inch.
Watch the dramatic effort, below.
In dramatic body cam footage, Myers is seen jabbing the tools into the ice to propel herself toward the sinking aircraft.
Two local citizens saw what was happening, and jumped into kayaks to help.
“While the plane was sinking, the pilot exited his plane and stood on the wing,” police wrote in a press release. “Once the kayakers were close enough, the pilot was able to hang on to one of them to stay afloat.”
The man was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, police said.
