"A cry for help:" Security guard rescues burned woman after meth explosion at Lake Geneva hotel



LAKE GENEVA -- A security guard who discovered a woman half-naked with first-degree burns all over her body is speaking out. It happened in Lake Geneva, following a meth explosion at The Cove hotel on Monday, January 9th.

The Cove hotel



The chief security officer said he at first thought the cries for help were fake and an attempt to lure him to a garage to be assaulted, but once he realized the situation that was unfolding, he jumped into action.

"It was a cry out for help. 'Somebody please help me. Please help me,'" said Dan Novotny, Mill Creek Hotel chief security officer. "I got on the intercom and I said 'can I help you with something?'"

During a shift like any other, 52-year-old Novotny saw a woman he won't soon forget.

Mill Creek Hotel



"She was burned really bad from head to toe. Her clothes were burned off. She was crying. She was in need of a rescue," said Novotny.

Dan Novotny



Novotny has been a security guard at the Mill Creek Hotel for three years. One of his habits during his shift is to keep his intercom on at all times.

"She was over here kind of hunched down screaming 'help me! Help me! Please somebody help me,'" said Novotny.

A 35-year-old half-naked woman with burns all over her body wearing a winter coat wandered from The Cove hotel, into part of the parking garage at the Mill Creek Hotel.

Mill Creek Hotel parking garage



"How did she get burned this bad and make it here to our hotel?" Novotny wondered.

Dan Novotny



Police say at 3:15 a.m. Monday morning, the woman suffered first-degree burns from a meth explosion inside a room at The Cove hotel. Charges related to meth production have already been filed against a 50-year-old man also inside the room.

"I'm just glad I had (my intercom) on and that she came here," Novotny said.

Mill Creek Hotel parking garage



Novotny said at first she made up a story about her injuries, but the origins of her injuries were soon connected to The Cove hotel. Novotny said on a night as cold as Monday, he's glad he was able to help.

Dan Novotny



"She couldn't make it too far. If I hadn't heard her down here, I don't know what she would've done," said Novotny.

Novotny also said he was able to keep the woman calm while an ambulance arrived. Police are waiting for her to get treatment before they get a statement from her about what happened.