Man trying to save woman jumped into river in Kentucky. His body was found months later
The body of a Louisville man who jumped into the Ohio River to save a woman was found more than three months later, officials say.
Police in Newburgh in southwestern Indiana found the remains of 34-year-old Adam Thomas on Saturday, April 2, at the Old Lock and Dam area. His body had washed 100 miles downstream after he jumped in the Ohio River in Louisville on Jan. 13, according to police.
Thomas, nor the woman he tried to rescue, never made it back to shore, officials said. Both were presumed to have drowned.
“The actions of Mr. Thomas were a true act of heroism and took great courage,” Maj. Jonathan Scully said. “Mr. Thomas placed himself in harms way in order to help another and ultimately sacrificed his life in doing so.”
The identity of the woman Thomas was attempting to save has not been publicly disclosed. Witnesses said she was walking “erratically” toward the river as several tried to stop her before she jumped in, WHAS reported in January.
Heb Dearinger, who witnessed the jump and attempted rescue, told WHAS that Thomas struggled in the water for up to a minute before he went under.
“It was real hard to watch,” Dearinger said. “Everyone just kind of stood around. Nobody could really do anything for him.”
Another observer, Anthony Slowinski, said Thomas did not hesitate in trying to rescue the woman.
“He wanted somebody to do something and when me and the other guy clearly weren’t going to get into the water, he was like, ‘Well I guess it’s going to be me.’” Slowinski told WLKY. “And even through the shock of it all, rationally if you looked out, you could see there wasn’t any reaching her but I guess he was just so overwhelmed with wanting to do something, he felt like he needed to be the one.”
Thomas was described in a Facebook memorial post as “an amazing son, brother, father and friend to all.”
His mother, Betsy Thomas, said he often went out of his way to help strangers.
“I think people might think it’s a random act of kindness, but that’s just what Adam did,” she said in January, the Courier-Journal reported. “It wasn’t a random act.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Man trying to save woman jumped into river in Kentucky. His body was found months later."