Colorado Mother Dies After Saving Her 2-Year-Old Son From Drowning in Lake Powell

staff@people.com (Karen Mizoguchi)
Updated
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A Colorado mother died saving her 2-year-old son from drowning in Lake Powell, Utah.

Chelsey J. Russell and her son were in a houseboat with family in the Hall's Crossing region of Lake Powell on Aug. 23 when the young child fell overboard. The 35-year-old mother of two jumped in the water to save her boy.

Neither were wearing a life vest.





"A family member was able to untie a smaller boat being towed from behind the houseboat and get to the mother and child before going completely under the water," the San Juan County Sheriff said in a statement on Thursday.

"The conscious child was rescued from atop the mother’s chest; however, the mother was unconscious when pulled from the water."

Russell, an associate at law firm Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley in Denver, was pronounced dead after CPR was administered for 30 minutes.



"Chelsey was an amazing mother, an exceptional legal talent, an extraordinary athlete, a loyal and generous friend, and left us all better for knowing her. She is sorely missed," the law firm stated on its website.

Russell's toddler was released from a hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona after it was determined he was in stable condition, according to local reports.