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Terrace-born RCMP officer helps pull woman from Nechako River in Prince George

Terrace-born RCMP officer Const. Cole Ebling helped save the life of a person in the Nechako River this afternoon.
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Terrace-born RCMP officer Const. Cole Ebling helped save the life of a person in the Nechako River this afternoon.

“Const. Ebeling’s actions and bravery exemplify the efforts and sacrifices our police officers and employees make each and every day here in Prince George,” says Supt. Warren Brown, the officer in charge of the Prince George RCMP.

“Because of Const. Ebeling’s commitment to public safety, he sacrificed his own safety to save the life of a person who would have drowned. I simply cannot ask more of an effort than that.”

On Thursday May 18th, 2017, at 10:28 a.m., the Prince George RCMP received a report from a concerned citizen that a female had gone into the Nechako River near the Cameron Street Bridge in Prince George.

Two off-duty 9-1-1 operators that were walking along the Heritage River Trail called in to the RCMP’s Operational Communication Center (OCC) and provided updates as to where the female was.

Within a few shorts minutes of the original call, police and other emergency services began arriving in the area and set up at various points along the river.

Two officers were able to solicit the assistance of a boat operator and began searching from the water.

Within a few more minutes, and with updates provided by the off-duty 9-1-1 operators, the female was observed floating approximately 700 metres from the bridge.

Const. Cole Ebling, a Prince George general duty officer, ran into the fast moving water and began making his way towards the female.

While this was happening, an off-duty officer sent his dog into the water to grab the female – this was his personal dog, not a police dog.

The dog grabbed the female and began pulling the female back towards Const. Ebling, who then grabbed hold of the female and pulled her back to shore.

The female was transported to hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.

Prince George RCMP want to thank all those that assisted with this rescue, including the original caller, the boat owner, the off-duty 9-1-1 operators, the off-duty officer and his dog, Const. Ebling and many other bystanders who assisted.