Hero cop swims Hutt River 18 times in dark to rescue youths

A Wellington police officer who swam a gorge river 18 times in the dark to rescue a group of stranded youth has been praised for her potentially life-saving effort. Constable Rochelle Andrews, from Search and Rescue (SAR) Wellington, ferried the party to safety, one by one, across the Hutt River at Kaitoke, Upper Hutt. "Rochelle's actions were exceptional, putting the rescued party's welfare far above her own," said Sergeant Ants Harmer, Wellington District SAR coordinator, in an article published in the Police Ten One magazine.