Man involved in rescue at Twin Falls comes forward

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A man involved in rescuing another man in his 20s from drowning at Twin Falls near Lynn Canyon is coming forward.

Brian Laverentz, from San Antonio, is in the Lower Mainland on his honeymoon. While on a hike, Laverentz and his new wife started chatting with another family on vacation from Chicago.

He decided to take a dip in the water, but was quickly called back to shore when his wife began yelling at him that the father in the other family had found a drowning man.

“The husband of the family was asking, ‘Can you get him?’ And I realized, my legs were so numb that if I had tried to go out there by myself, I’m not sure I’d have brought him back,” says Laverentz. “I think I would have drowned myself just from exhaustion.”

RELATED: Family being called lifesavers after pulling man from Twin Falls, performing CPR

He had no pulse, was unconscious and not breathing. Once they got him to shore, Laverentz and members of the other family began performing CPR and chest compressions.

“We did chest compressions for about two minutes and then he started to come around, and by the time the park ranger got down, he was able to tell us his name, which was pretty, pretty awesome,” he says. “I honestly did not think we were going to get him back.”

Once fire and paramedics arrived, the man was already conscious and able to say his name.

Laverentz says he is not a religious man, but he does feel as though fate played a role.

Rescue currently underway at Twin Falls in Lynn Canyon on the North Shore. Park rangers and BC Ambulance are on scene and people are asked to avoid the area for now.

— CityNews Vancouver (@CityNewsVAN) July 16, 2019

“We found out the father was a lifeguard. It all seemed very serendipitous — unfortunate for him — but serendipitous in that he was a lifeguard and I had been a United States Navy corpsman, so I was medical for United States Marines.”

Laverentz is also a medical student, about to head into his second year.

He is hoping to get in contact with the District of North Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, so he can learn how the man is down and to get some closure.

“It was pretty jarring for both of us, both the family from Chicago and us,” says Laverentz. “It was kind of a jarring experience.”