Muskogee Officers Recount Water Rescue That Saved Woman's Life

A woman is thankful to be alive tonight, after nearly drowning from heavy rain in Muskogee over the weekend. Three officers risked their lives to save the woman. 

The rescue was captured on their body cameras and shows the moment's officers rescued a woman trapped in a ditch after floodwaters carried her from her car near York Street and Old Shawnee Road.

"It definitely looked like she was in trouble, so we tried to come up with some sort of plan to pull her out. I lowered myself close as close to I can get without me falling," said Muskogee Officer Taylor Hignite. 

Officer Hignite, Lieutenant Jeremy Jenkins, and Bacone College officer Donald Eperson say they knew they had only minutes to rescue the woman. They say the water was at least 4 to 5 feet high in the ditch. The officers had to hang from the steep ledge and form a human chain to get to the woman. That's where they held her for more than 8 minutes before more help got there. 

"Really there was no hesitation. We tried to pull her out by the hand but couldn't reach her, so our only other option was to get somebody close enough to the water for her to hang onto," said Lt. Jenkins. 

"About from my waist down, I was hanging off the edge and that was what she was able to hang on to," explained Hignite. He says the woman was in the water for more than 20 minutes in water nearly up to her chin -- before she and the officers were rescued by firefighters who used a rope to get them to safety. 

"Her situation was deteriorating really rapidly and if we weren’t able to get a hold of her and pull her out of the water as quickly as we did, she would’ve survived the incident," Jenkins admitted. 

Hignite and the others say they're thankful everyone made it out alive. "There’s no way this would’ve been an individual accomplishment for any of us to do by ourselves for sure," said Hignite. 

The officers said they had several other calls for vehicles in high water after rescuing the woman. The officers tell News on 6 they want this event to be a reminder to people to "turn around, and don't drown." The victim spoke to News on 6 and says she is home recovering with only minor scratches and bruises. She says she plans to thank the officers in person soon.