“You Are Not Going to Die Out Here”: Mother of 4 Survived a Freak Accident by Swimming Under Unusual Conditions in 2016

One often comes across new flashing many losing lives to countless water accidents, and more specifically, drowning,  in daily lives. There have been many incidents recorded when the mere carelessness of people lead to their tragic fates. A similar incident happened in 2016 when swimming helped Lauren Conner to save her life in a very critical situation. 

On the evening of 1st July 2016, Lauren Conner was spending a beautiful night enjoying the Riverview when she accidentally fell off the boat. According to the report from the Independent, Conner initially thought that rescuing operations would be only a matter of minutes but soon realized that things weren’t simple. 

Conner chose swimming as the last way to survive

Conner initially believed that her boyfriend would find her. However, she found herself freaking out when nobody came to her rescue for some time. On the other side, her boyfriend was desperately searching for Conner. But the low light availability during the dusk hours made it difficult to find her. The thought of her hitting her head and drowning was clouding his mind. 

However, Conner grabbed her courage and started swimming to find the shore. On the other hand, Johnson called 911 for assistance. Conner had taken a grip on a buoy but as soon as she saw a blue light, she took off her tank top to get the eyes of the rescuers. However, the darkness was making it impossible for the team to take notice of her. But Conner didn’t give up and kept pushing herself. “Just keep swimming,” she told herself. 

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Throughout her struggle, she kept remembering her four children which became her ultimate motivation. “You are not going to die out here,” she kept telling herself. She kept swimming and the ocean currents were assisting her flow. However, she had no idea where she was heading or whether her body had the capability of making it to the shore. 

Love for the children and lessons from her past kept pushing her

Amidst deadly waves with narrowing hopes, the hardships she faced during her childhood kept motivating her. As someone who has spent most of her childhood in water, she changed the strategy and rolled onto her back, and started kicking. In fact, she found a new bout of energy when decided to not “let these kids down.” 

The lady soon reached the shore of Spesutie Island’s beach. But her struggles didn’t end there as the place was deserted. She spent the whole night in an abandoned building. Conner had a difficult childhood as her parents struggled with addiction. Spending a night alone would have been a tough task for anyone else but not for her. The next morning, she started following an inland road. The sight of an orange truck driving toward her made her teary. 

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“Girl found. Can u believe it?”—this message brought happiness back to the family who had lost all hopes of seeing Conner again. From shark attacks to stings, do you also have interesting stories about the sea? Let us know in the comments.