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IMT^ THE INTELLIGENCER, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1968 ^^^ ------------------ îî ^^^: Eleven Year Old Saves Woman from Drowning H*r TfAl?PV TVTTTT.W ATT. TI /QC- rirvfkirirt' olc^ T /-»/-\iiT/4 /^/-k C<1-_By HARRY MULHALL Staff Reporter LATTA -- At 11 years old, 'Robert Thompson is a nimble I thinker in an emergency. For that reason the mother of two young children is still alive -- rescued by the Belle- ville youngster from certain drowning in the deep-flowing Moira River here. And Mrs. Hedi Stroempl, 31, of Tweed, is also leading the praise being showered on the boy by all the adults involv- ed in the drama. But Robert -- s,on of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Thompson, 220 John Street -- has a laconic explanation for it all: "I wasn't calm. But there was nothing else I could do, really." The incident happened yes- terday when Mrs. Stroempl, returning home from B e l l e - ville with children Anna 7, and Peter, 8, stopped by to visit the Thompsons in their sum- mer trailer here. Robert and other youngsters were swimming in the nearby Moira, at that point more tlan 100 feet wide, deep and witi a current running toward a nill dam. Mrs. Stroempl decided toga swimming herself and wait into the riyer. N e a r m.d- stream she suddenly develcp- ed a leg cramp which spre<d rapidly through her body, pi- ralyzing movement. She apparently cried out, but no one heard her. The youngsters continued romping nearby, oblivious of the sudden danger threatening the woman. "Nobody heard her -- all the kids are young and were having a good time," explains Robert. Then the Stroempl children noticed their mother had lost her bathing cap, and mention- ed it to Mrs. Thompson watch- ing from the bank. Mrs. Thompson glanced across the river and for the first time realized her friend was in danger. Calling to Robert he threw him an inflated inner tube. He broke away from his play- mates and headed out to the drowning woman. Reaching her, he automatic- ally put into practice some of the rescue lessons he says he learned during swimming les- sons at the Belleville YMCA. But, in this particular situ- ation, they were of little avail. The youngster was too light weight to keep the adult's head above water and simultaneous- ly tow her to safety. However, he didn't panic in the predicament. Instead, he calmly let the drowning woman go under once more. As she rose to the surface he clapped the inner tube over her head, pressing it firmly around her neck. Then towing and pushing, he brought Mrs. Stroempl to the safety of the river bank. She spent the next three hours resting near the Thomp- son trailer with her husband - summoned from the Tweed lands and forests office where he is a research forester. She believes sunstroke may have induced t h e cramps which threatened her life. George Stroempl was loud in praise for the 11-year-old-- and his cool thinking under stress. "He did a man's work here today," said the forester. Said OPP Const. S h a n e Halvorsen: "T h i s woman would have been a goner, I'm telling you, if it hadn't been for this boy."