What began as a summer picnic on a Mississippi River sandbar in 1925 ended in tragedy when a swimmer was caught in the current and cried out for help.
A. H. Thompson and former steamboat captain W. F. McGuire immediately plunged into the river fully clothed, joining two other men in an effort to save her.
The young woman was pulled to safety, but Thompson and McGuire were seized by the river’s powerful undercurrents.
As their wives watched helplessly from the sandbar, both men disappeared beneath the water, losing their lives in an attempt to save another.
Drowned Before Wives
HELENA, Arkansas. — A.H. Thompson, 30 years old, and W.F. McGuire, 58, formerly a well known river steamboat captain, were drowned in the Mississippi River 4 miles north of Helena yesterday when they went to the rescue of Miss Cecile Ehrmann of Helena, who had been caught in the current.
A party of young society people had gone to a sandbar for a picnic in McGuire’s launch. Miss Ehrmann was swimming about 75 yards from shore when she called for help. Thompson, McGuire, and two other man leaped into the river, fully clothed, and went to her rescue. Thompson and McGuire are believed to have been swept to their death by undercurrents as their wives looked on from the sandbar.
Miss Ehrmann was rescued by Harry Marchand and Alvin Solomon of Helena.
Source: Evening Star. Washington, D.C. June 15, 1925.
