Area man rescues girl from fish pond

A Manderson man is being hailed a hero after rescuing a 5-year-old girl who had jumped into the pond at the Wigwam Rearing Station last month.

Samantha Lafollette of Sheridan said that while visiting the Game and Fish station on July 23, her 5-year-old daughter with autism had been feeding the fish and as the fish came up to eat the girl got excited and jumped in.

Jordan Vigil, a friend of the family, knew the daughter did not know how to swim and jumped immediately from his seated position into the pond, grabbing the young girl.

Vigil, in an interview this week, said, the young girl was sitting on his lap feeding the fish at the pond and she got so he got up and she immediately jumped into the pond with the fish.

He noted that she jumped a ways out not right at the edge where he could easily grab her. “And I jumped in. I don’t know how to swim, but I’d want somebody to do that with me if no one was there,” Vigil said.

The water was not quite up to his waist. 

Vigil grabbed the girl and lifted her about his head. “She’s non verbal, so I can’t ask her if she’s OK, but I was looking at her, and she was breathing.”

Lafollette was assisting her other daughter in the restroom at the time of the incident.

She said her daughter had held her breath and did not swallow any water and was unharmed thanks to the quick actions of Vigil.

The heroism did not come without a cost, Lafollette said, as Vigil suffered a knee and back injury that has left him unable to work.

Vigil said he knew immediately something was wrong with his right leg but he got the girl to land and hollered for Samantha. She helped pull him out of the water. 

A nearby resident and two Game and Fish employees helped get him up so they could get him to the hospital. Two trips to the Washakie Medical Center emergency room, one on July 23, and one a few days later, and then a trip to a Billings hospital for additional testing and Vigil was diagnosed with a tibia plateau fracture.

He does not require surgery but healing and physical therapy can take up to six months to a year.

Vigil, 37, who is employed with McMac in Worland, said he does not have insurance but has been filling out forms for assistance. He said due to the nature of the work at McMac and the injury, his is unable to return to work at this time.

Lafollette said, “Jordan never hesitated to help. He put someone else’s child before his own safety, and because of that, he now faces a long recovery with mounting medical expenses, lost income, and everyday living expenses while he heals.”

She has set up a GoFundMe account to assist Vigil with his medical expenses and other expenses.

Those wanting to donate may do so at https://gofund.me/9dc50bfd2

“Because of Jordan, my daughter is alive today, and I will always be grateful for what he did,” she said.

Vigil also helps raise his two children.