Jasmine Morris

Jasmine Morris rescued a boy from drowning, West Des Moines, Iowa, February 25, 2023. Two young boys, each about 9 years old, broke through the ice on a retention pond at an apartment complex and fell into water about 6 feet deep 10 feet from the near bank. Jasmine, 15, high school student, witnessed the incident from a window in her family’s apartment, called out to her 17-year-old sister, and the two ran outside to the backyard of the complex. Jasmine jumped into the frigid pond first, shortly followed by her sister. Neither Jasmine nor her sister could touch the bottom of the pond and had to tread water to stay afloat. Jasmine got to the boys first, grabbed one by the arm, and attempted to create a path to the grass by breaking the ice with her left elbow before pushing the boy up onto the ice so that he could crawl across to the grassy bank. Her sister approached the second boy who had sunk below the surface, pulled him up by his finger, and attempted to push him up onto the ice just as Jasmine had done. The sister could not lift the boy due to his backpack, so she removed it from him and was able to get him onto the ice. The sister was helped from the water by a bystander, while Jasmine exited by herself. One boy was taken to the hospital for treatment. Jasmine was fatigued, cold, and suffered minor cuts on her hands and legs, but did not seek medical treatment. She recovered.