Pictured, are Jen Curley and her husband Jed Gobrecht of Ithaca, N.Y. as they prepare to do some skiing. Jen Curley descended into the icy Cayuga Lake waters in Varick, N.Y. on Jan. 2, 2015 to rescue a duck hunter, 33-year old Wesley Ahouse of Lodi, N.Y., who was near death in the frigid water. Submitted Photo/Jen Curley.
Pictured, is the approximate location in Varick, N.Y. where Jen Curley descended into the icy Cayuga Lake water on Jan. 2, 2015 to rescue a duck hunter, 33-year old Wesley Ahouse of Lodi, N.Y., who was near death in the frigid waters. (Photo by Wendy Post)
Pictured, is the approximate location in Varick, N.Y. where Jen Curley descended into the icy Cayuga Lake water on Jan. 2, 2015 to rescue a duck hunter, 33-year old Wesley Ahouse of Lodi, N.Y., who was near death in the water. This photo was taken at approximately 3:30 p.m. on a later date, and ducks are seen swimming back out into the water. (Photo by Wendy Post)
The concept of true humility is when we do good deeds in life, without expecting recognition. When we display this quality, then we have grasped the concept of true humility.
For 47-year old Jen Curley of Ithaca, and formerly from Binghamton, N.Y., being humble was the last thing on her mind on Jan. 2, 2015, when she and her husband were returning from the Outlet Stores in Waterloo, N.Y. – a birthday present from her husband, Jed Gobrecht.
It was approximately 3:30 p.m. when they were traveling down scenic Route 89 to return home, and they were passing through Varick, N.Y. – a small town with several wineries and a handful of cottages that veers down towards Cayuga Lake.
As an animal lover, Jen, who was driving, is always keeping a watchful eye for small animals that might scurry into the road. But on Friday, she saw something different.
Out in the water, approximately a quarter of a mile away, she saw something dark that appeared to be flailing in the water.
Jen thought it might be a large bird of sorts, but then a second thought went through her mind, it might be someone in the water.
She slowed, with a bit of panic, to get a better look; suddenly realizing that it was an individual who was in the water, and was in some trouble.
The couple immediately pulled over, and her husband got out of the car to take a look, and told Jen that it appeared to be someone towing their boat.
It is noted, that on Friday, Jan. 2, according to weather maps, the temperature at that time of day was approximately 32 degrees. Cayuga Lake, for those unfamiliar with it, is approximately 38-miles long, and at its deepest portions measures at about 435-feet in depth. With this depth, the lake water, as recorded through studies performed by Cornell University and others, is known to freeze completely over in its shallow parts during the winter months.
As a former lifeguard, teacher, who is native to the Southern Tier Region, Jen’s reaction to Jed’s assessment of the situation, bluntly, was “The [expletive removed] it is!”
Jen pulled into the nearest driveway, in which its’ owners were just arriving home behind her and were visibly upset by the car’s blockage – but it was too late. Jen was already running down to the water, and was screaming, “Somebody help!” She was also screaming out to the man in the water, to just “hang in there”.
This photo shows Jen Curley and her husband Jed Gobrecht of Ithaca, N.Y., in the approximate location where on Jan. 2, Jen entered the icy waters in Varick, N.Y. to rescue a duck hunter, 33-year-old Wesley Ahouse of Lodi, N.Y., who was near death and flailing in the water. Submitted Photo/Jen Curley.
From what Jen could recollect, the man, identified by Waterloo State Police Investigator Anthony DeMarco as 33-year old Wesley Ahouse of Lodi, N.Y., was in the water and couldn’t move. She also noted that Ahouse was wearing a life vest, so he was floating on his back.
“His scream was bone chilling,” Jen described, “that’s how I knew he (Wesley Ahouse) was in trouble.”
Over and over again, as Jen descended into the icy waters at this point, she told Wesley Ahouse to just “hang in there.”
She also described Wesley Ahouse was wearing layers of camouflage clothing, and that he was moving his arms a little, but only in circles equivalent to the size of a frisbie. It was evident that the rest of his body was too cold to move.
At this point, Jen’s husband and the gentleman who owned the driveway they had parked in were making 9-1-1 calls, and screaming for her to not go in the water.
But now, she was up to her chin as this area was a shallow point in the lake. And then she started to become numb, and freeze.
“I couldn’t move anymore and was getting dizzy, and I was still twenty to thirty feet away,” said Jen of the icy waters.
Wesley Ahouse was in trouble and had a boat nearby, which he was presumably using for duck hunting; Ahouse also had several friends further in the distance who were trying to paddle closer, but it was not going to be soon enough.
Jen coached Wesley Ahouse who was on his back, frozen with a life jacket on to just keep circling his hands the best he could.
Frozen as well, Jen inched towards Ahouse, and he also did towards her.
All the while, Jed continued to tell her not to go further, but she was filled with adrenaline and knew she had to take action to save a man who was going to die.
Wesley Ahouse finally reached her, and with her lifeguard skills, Jen knew the proper technique to pull him safely from the water, although by this point – she was totally frozen.
By the time Jen returned to shore, she recalled being told by responders on the scene to remove all of her clothing that was wet, and to get in the warm car. She did note, that it all happened so fast that her details of who was there when she returned and what was said were a bit convoluted; although she did recall that there were some area rescue workers on the scene at this point.
It was later confirmed that the Waterloo State Police had responded with assistance from the Varick Fire Department.
Jen and Jed left the area immediately, with what Jen described as getting in her car on Route 89 in “nothing but her skivvies”.
As for Wesley Ahouse, she never learned much more than the fact that he was safe, and out of the water.
She described in an interview that Ahouse couldn’t stand up after the rescue, and stated that she later learned that he declined medical attention, although this could not be confirmed.
She also learned later that the Varick Fire Department went out and retrieved the boat that Wesley Ahouse was duck hunting from.
The incident, she presumed, happened when Wesley Ahouse leaned over to retrieve a decoy, and the boat had overturned – although this information could not been confirmed by State Police investigators.
As for Jen, she was better after the adrenaline and nerves shook off. Outside of some wheezing, and a little trouble with her breathing, she was left with nothing but shock at what had just occurred on the lake.
To recover herself, she noted, she wrapped herself in blankets and drank plenty of warm tea; but the situation, she stated, “…keeps playing over and over in her head.”
“I didn’t even think about what I did,” she stated, “I can’t make any sense of it.”
Jen grew up in Binghamton, N.Y., and began teaching in the 1990’s.
According to Jen, she taught in New York City, Tucson Arizona, worked at the Psychiatric Center in Binghamton, N.Y. for a short time, and then for the Elmira School system. She now works for Warren Real Estate.
Most notably, to this scenario, and is the reason why a life was saved, is that Jen also served as a lifeguard in 1987, and then from 1991 to 1992 for Binghamton Park and Recreation’s Columbus Park.
Jen had never married and met her husband, Jed Gobrecht of Ithaca, while she was volunteering at the Ithaca Brew Fest in 2009. They married in 2011 and now reside in Ithaca.
As for the details of what exactly happened to Wesley Ahouse that caused his craft to overturn, a confirmation has not been made. We also reached out to the Varick Fire Department, who has not yet responded.
What is known, is that an unselfish act of one woman, saved the life of a man whose life was hanging in the balance.
