Florida Man Swims Half a Mile to Save 84-Year-Old Mom During Hurricane Ian

Johnny Lauder Karen Lauder Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian Rescue

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Oct 05, 04:52 am

Photo: (Photo : RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)

Many survival stories have come out of Florida following the onslaught of Hurricane Ian. Johnny Lauder and his mother, Karen Lauder, shared theirs with People Magazine, which was a gripping story.

According to Johnny, he could not convince his mom to leave her home and go to a shelter before Hurricane Ian pounded Florida. Karen told her son that he'd have to pull her out kicking and screaming for that to happen.

The thing that Johnny feared the most occurred, though, as the storm surge came barreling into his mom's home. The 84-year-old wheelchair-bound mom called to say that the water had already reached her belly button.

Johnny makes a dramatic rescue attempt after mom calls for help

Upon hearing his mom's call for help, Johnny quickly dove out the window and started swimming to Karen's home to save her. Johnny is a delivery truck driver in Naples, but he was a Chicago police officer and a rescue diver back in the '90s. He, his mom, and his sons live about four blocks apart.

Knowing the threat of Hurricane Ian, Johnny's youngest kid stayed in constant contact with his grandma. Once Karen called and said that the water was up to her stomach, Johnny put his sons, his son's girlfriend, a bird, a cat, and a rabbit into the attic crawl space with food and essentials before setting off around 3 p.m. to save his mom.

Johnny said he jumped out the window and had to push and kick his way through the water. He said that cars were floating past him as the current was insane. He added that he knew the risk and the dangers, that he could be hit by debris, taken under, and slammed against something. However, there was no time to think, as his mom was in grave danger.

As he was making his way to his mom's home, he passed a boat and was able to find a life jacket there. He grabbed it so that his mom could use it later on. The journey to rescue his mother was difficult, as he was moving against the current.

Karen was 20 minutes away from dying

He documented his movements, grabbing onto a branch or next to a pole once in a while to take a selfie. He was doing that to let his family know he was okay as he sent those pictures to them during the rescue.

It took Johnny about 40 minutes to travel the four blocks to his mom's home. According to him, it felt like forever. He knew Karen did not have much time with the water still rising. Once he made it to her door, he heard his mom screaming.

When he opened the window of her flooded home, he saw his mom with water up to her chin. He shared that if he arrived 20 minutes later, his mom would not be here anymore. Karen is fortunate she survived the powerful storm.

According to ABC News, the Hurricane Ian death toll is now more than 100 after the storm slammed Florida and North Carolina.