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Kimberley Matthews [right], Tripp Matthews [left of Kimberley], Tripp's friend Kaiden and his mom [far right], and retired RCMP Staff Sgt. Damon Werrell and his family [center] visit Mallory and Jackson Spiller and their two children, the family they helped rescue from the pool at a Dawson Creek hotel. (Image Credit: Kimberley Matthews)
By Nathaniel Leigh
Community

Grande Prairie woman and son help rescue family in Dawson Creek hotel pool

Aug 21, 2026 | 1:07 PM

A Grande Prairie woman and her 7-year-old son are being credited with helping to rescue a family from a near-fatal drowning in Dawson Creek.

Kimberley Matthews was in Dawson Creek for the Midway on Thursday, August 6, and was at their hotel pool when she spotted her son and his friend attempting to pull an unconscious baby from the water.

“I thought I was having a nightmare; I could not believe it,” says Matthews. “I went running over, I went and helped them with the baby off the ladder. I could not get my phone to work, so I said to Tripp, ‘You need to go get help, go make as much noise as you can. Run, scream down the halls, knock on doors, go to the front desk, and tell them to call 911, that there was a drowning.”

While her son alerted the hotel, Matthews spotted an adult woman and a 5-year-old girl also unconscious in the water and successfully pulled them out with help from nearby bystanders.

Matthews and the bystanders performed life-saving measures on the family and kept them alive until emergency responders arrived.

“As I was giving her rescue breaths, I could see life going into her body,” Mathews says. “That’s the best way I can describe it. Her colour was changing before our eyes. She never opened her eyes, but she had a pulse, and she was moaning when the paramedics got there.”

Paramedics and investigators shook her son’s hand afterwards, telling him he was a hero.

Investigators have confirmed the woman suffered a seizure in the pool and inadvertently pulled her children down with her.

All three have since regained consciousness and are expected to make a full recovery.

Matthews says she did nothing special and instead did what anyone would have done in that situation.

“I tried my best, I’m sure there are things I could have done better,” she says. “I’m so happy for a good and positive outcome. I hope Mallory [the mother]’s health continues to improve, to only get better. I wish the family all the best. I hate that this is how we met, but she will always have a special place in my heart.”

Matthews, her son, and the other rescuers have since been able to meet the family they helped rescue; they are currently in the middle of moving to Alaska, where the father of the family is opening a dental practice.

EverythingGP has reached out to Mallory Spiller (he woman saved during this incident) but has yet to hear back. Her comments about the incident will be added to this story if and when we receive them.

by Nathaniel Leigh