HARRISON TWP., Mich. (WXYZ) — A dramatic rescue was caught on camera of a women in the frigid cold waters of Lake St. Clair.
It happened Monday while Korisa Miller was fishing with a friend at Beacon Cove in Harrison Township. Miller says she was in the water for about 15 minutes. It was a close call. She says she’s grateful to be alive.
"I just know I didn’t want to die," Miller said.
She added that it happened in a blink of an eye. She was fishing with her friend when suddenly she fell off the dock into the water.
RELATED: Harrowing rescue of woman from freezing water caught on body camera
"By the time she got to me I was already down in the water and the water was up to my chin," Miller said.
The woman says she lost her footing and fell into the bone-chilling waters of Lake St. Clair. Her friend Melissa Kovlowski was nearby and tried helping her out of the water.
"I just kept screaming at her," Kovlowski said. "I said you’ve got to stay up, you’ve got to stay up, you’ve got to keep your head up."
Miller was wearing a hoodie when she went in the water. When officers arrived it was floating up around her neck. They removed it so it wouldn’t chock her while officers were trying to pull her out. Finally, after several attempts, Miller was out of the water.
"It was better than any feeling that the worrying was over," Kovlowski said.
The Macomb County Sheriff's Department posted the video on Facebook with important information in case something like this happens to you.
First – don’t panic and try to get control of your breathing. Don't take your clothes off unless it's absolutely necessary and act to protect yourself against rapid heat loss.
"Literally, I can give my life to all of them especially the first responders that got me out," Miller said.
This incident was a warning to others who are around water and ice.
"Whether the ice is thin or thick, be careful even when you're on a dock," Miller said. "A freak accident could happen like this."
Miller says it was her first time ice fishing and say's she plans on doing it again, just not this year.
