SAUGUS — A pair of police officers are being hailed as heroes after they jumped into the Saugus River and rescued a drowning man.
Police were called to the area of the river Monday evening after a passerby saw a man jump off the Fox Hill Bridge into the water below, setting off a search effort, Chief Michael Ricciardelli said in a statement. Officers from Saugus and Lynn, along with the town’s fire department and its marine unit, aided in the search and spent more than 20 minutes looking for the man in the water to no avail.
Officer Ryan Bancroft was the first to spot the man, who was in the water near the Fox Hill Yacht Club. The man was “in a state of distress, yelling and pleading for help as he became submerged under the surface of the water several times,” the statement said.
Bancroft and fellow officer Athanasios Limbanovnous jumped into the water “without hesitation,” and were able to pull the man to safety.
Without the actions of Bancroft and Limbanovnous the man would have almost certainly drowned, Ricciardelli said. He added that the man was having a mental-health crisis and had relatives with him when he leapt into the water.
“It doesn’t look like this man would’ve survived much longer,” he said.
Ricciardelli hailed the officers for going “above and beyond,” and said he had always had a lot of confidence in each man.
Bancroft joined the department as a dispatcher in 2016 before becoming an officer in 2020. Limbanovnous spent roughly two decades as a police officer in Greece, before moving to the United States and becoming an officer in Saugus in 2021.
“These two police officers performed their duties in an exemplary manner and with the utmost professionalism,” Ricciardelli said. “Our department and community commend them for a job well done.”
Both men, through Ricciardelli, declined to be interviewed.
Several members of the Board of Selectmen lauded the actions of the officers, with Vice Chair Debra Panetta saying she would like to present the two with a citation honoring them for rescuing the man.
“I would like to sincerely thank officer Bancroft and officer Limbanovnous for their heroic actions rescuing this man,” she said. “It takes a special person to risk their lives for the safety of others.”
Selectman Jeff Cicolini said the “heroic and selfless actions” Bancroft and Limbanovnous displayed were a “prime example of how fortunate we are to have the men and women who serve in our public safety departments.”
“These officers were willing to sacrifice their own wellbeing to protect the life of another person and that truly reflects the motto ‘to protect and serve’,” Cicolini said.
