A Kansas woman has revealed how she miraculously survived being sucked into a roaring dam while trying to retrieve a stuck fishing hook.
Pat Igleheart was presumed dead after she fell into the raging waters at Toronto Lake’s spillway.
The 65-year-old had been fishing in the early hours when she plunged in on May 17.
‘It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through,’ she told KWCH News.
Pat Igleheart was presumed dead after she fell into the raging waters at Toronto Lake’s spillway on May 17
‘There was no getting to the side because the water was coming out of the spillway so rapidly.’
A total of 23 rescue agencies responded, but thought they would be recovering her body following a ‘tragic drowning’ according to an incident report.
Igleheart was swept downstream and eventually found herself on a log which she used to help haul herself out of the water.
‘I literally clawed my way up to the top of the bank,’ she said. ‘My sister who passed away. It was almost like she grabbed ahold of me and shoved me up and said, ‘not yet’.’
The exhausted senior managed to make her way to Deer Road 12 hours later in neighboring Wilson County.
The 65-year-old had been fishing when she plunged in, leaving rescuers thinking they were dealing with a ‘a tragic drowning’
She was picked up by a passing motorist in another event she chalks up to her guardian angel.
‘I feel like she was my savior. I get goosebumps every time I say that,’ Igleheart said.
She was taken to the hospital for a short recovery and has since been doing well at her home in Marion.
