They say a mother’s love knows no bounds and the legacy of Colette Sulcer is certainly proof of that. The 41-year-old was found floating facedown in flood waters brought on by Hurricane Harvey Tuesday with her 3-year-old daughter Jordyn clinging to her back. The toddler survived; Sulcer, unfortunately, did not.
Authorities told the Washington Post Sulcer was driving down an Interstate 10 service road in Beaumont,Texas, around 3:30 pm Tuesday when she came across high waters. “More than two inches of rain was falling per hour and wind gusts had reached 38 mph. Sulcer pulled into a nearby parking lot and got trapped, police said, so she grabbed her child, got out of the car and fled.”
Tragically, Sulcer and her daughter were swept into a canal about a half mile from the car by a strong current as the mother tried desperately to keep her child’s head above water. Officer Carol Riley, a spokeswoman for the Beaumont Police Department, said Sulcer “absolutely saved the child’s life,” Daily Mail reported.
Sulcer and Jordyn were found by two Beaumont police officers and two fire rescue divers. They spotted the toddler, who was wearing a small, pink backpack which helped her float, and pulled the mother and daughter from the water. Jordyn, who was suffering from hypothermia, was transported to a nearby hospital and listed in stable condition; Sulcer never regained consciousness.
Beaumont police spokeswoman Officer Haley Morrow told WaPo of Sulcer’s death, “It’s a true testament of a mother’s will to sacrifice her life to keep her child alive.”