Boaters tried hooking body of Jackie Triplett in desperate attempt to pull her out of the river

MILWAUKEE (WITI) --  62-year-old Jackie Triplett is clinging to life after a close call in the Milwaukee River Saturday night, July 12th. Triplett nearly drowned after falling in the water near Pere Marquette Park.

Triplett is currently in critical condition at St. Mary's Hospital. Family members are praying for a recovery, and say boaters were the only reason the woman was pulled out of the water.

"I hope she pulls through," says Ann Bogart, boater who tried to help.

Ann Bogart and Tim Forster happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"It was a split second for somebody to fall that fast and I happen to be looking," says Bogart.

The two were boating in the Milwaukee River when they spun their boat around to the pier.

"All of a sudden she`s gone, disappeared ," says Bogart.

As the two told someone to call 911, they grabbed safety equipment and searched the murky waters for a woman who had fallen in.

"Immediately went down here extended this pole and started working the wall," says Forster. "We were trying to hook her."

As they combed the area, emergency crews responded. One of them placed his flashlight into the cloudy water and was able to locate the woman. When officers pulled her from the water, the 62-year-old was unconscious and not breathing -- they performed CPR and she was taken to the hospital.

"She is not breathing on her own," says Mary Triplett, sister of Jackie. "She was nonresponsive so now she is on a ventilator, she is like in a coma."

The woman's sister, Mary Triplett, is trying to fully understand why her sister who can't swim was so close to water. It's an unfortunate incident, but Triplett believes her sister was dealing with sorrows from the past.

"She lost her hearing completely 10 years ago and that`s when I think the drinking increased more. She hasn`t been able to sing anymore or play her instruments," says Mary.

As she prays for her sister to get better, all she can do is be grateful to the boaters, and hope the woman has a second chance at life.

"The gentleman who called the ambulance and tried to save her, the family, I just want to thank you so much, cause if it weren't for him, who would have known if anybody would have seen her," says Mary.

Jackie Triplett is currently in critical condtion at St. Mary's Hospital.