An Indiana police officer rescued a woman and her young daughter from drowning in a river on Saturday, June 15, according to a press release from the Columbus Police Department on Facebook.
Officer Andrew Plank rescued Charity Weis, 34, and her daughter in Columbus, Ind. after the Columbus Police Department was called around 1:42 p.m
Plank found the mother and daughter at Mill Race Park two minutes after the 911 call, the police department said. He was then directed to a sandbar in the water, where he found the two of them floating by clinging to a fallen tree. The woman shouted that she could not hold out much longer.
“Officer Plank took off his bulletproof vest and duty belt without hesitation and went into the water. Officer Plank swam to the downed tree and was the first to pull the child out,” said the CPD press release. It says Plank then swam with the child on his back as he brought her back to the river bank, before returning to help the woman.
After Plank’s rescue mission, Weis and her daughter made it safely out of the river and were examined by emergency medical services.
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Officer Andrew Plank.
Columbus Police Department
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CPD said two children were playing on a sandbar in the river and ended up in the water. Their mother Weis then went into the river to save them, but the current caught her and her 8-year-old daughter.
A representative for the Columbus Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Wednesday.
The Columbus Police Department added in a statement that it encourages “anyone in or around a body of water to wear a personal flotation device. River currents can be deadly even for strong swimmers.”
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Mill Race Park in Columbus, Indiana.
Getty
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“We’ve been on a lot of them where the outcome wasn’t so good,” Plank told The Republic. “I just thought I’d go there, save them.”
“I did what anyone would do,” Plank said.
According to The Republic, Plank was part of the police force for 10 years and previously served in the Marines. During his tenure in the Marines, he taught him lifesaving swimming, which included lessons on how to swim with or against the current and how to save people who might be drowning.
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“My adrenaline was pretty high, and when we got to the bank and the medics caught them, it was just a relief,” he said. “I’m very grateful that the police are giving us the training we need to get out here and save lives.”
“We see the worst of the worst, and what keeps me going is being able to save people, help people and see the smiles on their faces after it happens,” he said. “My mentality is that if I can change one person’s life, then my whole career is worth it.”
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Source: HIS Education