RELUCTANT HERO: Sweetwater Lake man recognized for rescuing drowning teen
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John Dotts stands at the Cordry Lake beach where he first noticed the boy struggling to stay afloat. PHOTO BY JOSHUA MARSHALL
John Dotts stands at the Cordry Lake beach where he first noticed the boy struggling to stay afloat. PHOTO BY JOSHUA MARSHALL
The inflatable raft floated in the deep area of Sweetwater Lake, with no one around it.
John Dotts, enjoying a hot July day with his wife, noticed the plastic toy beyond the normal swimming area. That’s when he saw the splashing.
A boy was swimming after the raft then disappeared beneath the water. His head broke the surface, gasping, screaming for help, before going under again.
“All I could think was, ‘God help me. I can’t let this boy drown,’” he said.
Dotts’ actions likely saved the 16-year-old’s life. He swam about 50 yards out to get him and then dragged him to the lake’s beach. The conscious but delirious boy was treated at the hospital for a respiratory attack but was otherwise fine.
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