Brothers pull sister from river
By Wes Wade | (wes.wade@thedailytimes.com)
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the near-drowning of a 58-year-old Townsend woman rescued from the Little River Thursday evening.
Law enforcement and rescue personnel were called to the 6700 block of Old Walland Highway at around 6:40 p.m. to a report of an injured person in the Little River, a Blount County Sheriff’s Office report states.
Sheriff’s Office deputies spoke with Jessie Stinnett, who advised that he pulled his sister, Linda Heatherly, out of the middle of the river, the report says. Stinnett reportedly said that when he found Heatherly in the water, she was having trouble breathing.
Stinnett told The Daily Times that he was driving by the river and noticed that his brother was trying to help Heatherly out of the water. He said the two then pulled Heatherly from the water and onto the bank.
Stinnett said if he and his brother hadn’t been there, he fears Heatherly would have drowned.
The police report notes that deputies are considering the incident an attempted suicide, noting that Stinnett told deputies that Heatherly made comments earlier in the day about hurting herself. The report said that Heatherly had consumed alcohol prior to the incident.
Rural/Metro Ambulance Service took Heatherly to Blount Memorial Hospital, where she was treated and released. Townsend Police and the Townsend Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the scene.
