Scottsdale woman Katy Tharp saves 77-year-old from drowning

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - On November 27th, Diana Gilmore, 77, was going for a run around Angel Lake in McCormick Ranch. Gilmore would not be alive today if it wasn’t for a guardian angel of her own, who she had never met.

In order to catch up with her daughter, Gilmore decided to take a shortcut to the parking lot. The shortcut was across a small stream of water, which Gilmore said appeared to be only an inch deep.

“I put my foot on it and right away I knew how slimy it was,” Gilmore said. She then slipped, hit her head and fell into the water.

Scottsdale resident Katy Tharp, 24, decided to walk her dogs around the same lake that morning. Tharp heard a fisherman cry for help saying that a woman was drowning. Without hesitation, Tharp dropped her bag, cell phone and the dogs, and dove into the water to rescue Gilmore. When Tharp reached Gilmore, the older woman appeared to be unconscious and face down in the water.

Tharp pulled Gilmore to shore, and waited until Scottsdale fire crews arrived on the scene thanks to the fisherman’s 911 call.

The Scottsdale Fire Department honored Katy Tharp on Wednesday and presented her a plaque commemorating her heroic efforts.