Kayak Guide Saves Woman Who Jumped In Cumberland

NASHVILLE, TN -- Metro Police swarmed the shore of the Cumberland River Sunday after a woman reportedly jumped into the water. Jordan Mueller, a Cumberland Kayak Company guide, offered his services if needed and a few moments later, he was pressed into action.

“Next thing I know, the officer is asking me to come down there,” Mueller told WSMV. “There was a person they spotted out there in the water.”

Mueller grabbed a paddle and a life vest, hopped in a kayak and made a sprint for the channel "paddling ... and praying."

When he approached the woman, he tossed out a line, but she threw her hands up, sending her head below the waterline, so Mueller leapt from his kayak and into the water himself.

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"I knew I had to jump in," he told WSMV. "'I'm right here for you,' I told her. 'The same way I'm holding you, God's here's for you, too.'"

Mueller said he calmed and comforted the woman as they went back to shore; on the river most everyday, Mueller said he's never had to make that kind of rescue and he hopes he never has to again, particularly since he realized the woman didn't appear to want his help, requiring him to go in the water to save a life.

The woman, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Photo via J.R. Lind, Patch staff