'They were like water angels'

"They were like water angels."

So said Jody Owens, who nearly drowned after a kayak accident last weekend in Bollinger County.

Owens, Cape police Sgt. Joey Hann and bystander Ethan Jamieson appeared on Faune Riggin's "Real Talk with Riggin" radio show on KZIM/KSIM in Cape Girardeau Friday morning, and related the story of how off-duty Hann and Jamieson rescued Owens from a near drowning.

All four, including Riggin, were at Whippoorwill Lake Family Campground last weekend.

Hann said he was throwing sticks in the water for his dog, Scout, to retrieve, when he saw Owens' kayak flip.

"I hadn't kayaked in a while," Owens said, adding, though, the techniques came back quickly, "I got a little carried away with going out."

The water was deep. He wasn't wearing a life jacket.

Owens stood up in the kayak to get a look at some big fish in the water, and the boat flipped under him. He went in the water.

"My girlfriend was in a kayak next to me with our baby," Owens said, and the baby was wearing a life jacket.

At first, Owens said, he thought he could just flip the kayak back over. "But any person that knows the water knows that when the kayak flips, water gets inside, and it's not coming back up in the water," he said.

He almost didn't, either.

Hann said the beach was busy, and if he hadn't been so close by, he wouldn't have heard Owens' cries for help.

Hann said he borrowed a kayak from a neighboring person, Dan McCall, who "didn't hesitate. I didn't want to ask him because you never know what happens on a water rescue," Hann said.

McCall's wife threw a life vest their way, Hann noted. "That's what we really needed to keep Jody afloat."

Jamieson arrived on scene shortly thereafter, swimming the length of two football fields in an incredibly short time frame, Riggin said.

Owens said he went under four times. "I think I almost gave out," he said. "The third time I went under, I was ready to give up. I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes underwater ..."

"In the darkness, there was a hand," Riggin said.

Owens was exhausted from struggling to stay above water. His legs were weakened by underwater kicking.

"I didn't think I was going to make it," he said. "I thought about death and life. The water is so much of an easy death. So fast. I thank God for these gentlemen, Mr. Joey, Mr. Ethan, everyone who was out there."

Hann told Owens, "I saw you struggling and fighting. I saw you earlier with your kids on the beach. I knew you had a family. Ethan (Jamieson) saved the day."

Owens grabbed the life jacket and Hann and Jamieson were able to get him ashore.

"I thought we were recovering a body," Hann said. But, thanks to Jamieson, Owens was alive to tell the story Friday morning.

"It was the coolest thing," Hann said. "I went from being terrified to realizing my buddy Ethan came out of nowhere and saved this guy's life."

Hann said once he and Jamieson had gotten Owens out of the water and some water out of his lungs, Owens wasn't very responsive, so Jamieson got him talking about his family.

"That's when he really fought, thinking about his family and all he had to live for," Hann said. "Ethan not only got him out of the water, but he also kept him going after the fact. He did a tremendous job at the time of the event and after."

"I didn't really think about it," Jamieson said.

"When I was out there, I didn't see nothing. I just saw angels. That's all I saw, straight angels," Owens said. "I can't say that my fall was meant, but these guys being there was a blessing. ... I think about 'What if, what if, what if,' and I just thank God for Mr. Joey. Mr. Ethan, for everyone out there who helped. ... I'm blessed, man. I'm blessed."

Owens noted the recent drowning death of actor Naya Rivera and said such a fate can happen to anyone.

"Before you get in the water, please have a life jacket on," Owens said. "Even if you think you can swim, the water height is harmless."

The entire interview is under Recent Interviews and Podcasts at kzimksim.com.