'Jake Is Definitely A Hero:' Wichita Man Drowns Saving Woman Trapped In Missouri Dam

A 26-year-old man died Friday while attempting to save a woman stuck in the Missouri River.

Jacob Farley, a native of Wichita, Kansas, jumped into the Missouri River to help a woman, Madison Capps, who had been swept underwater near the Elk River Dam in Noel, Missouri. The pair fought to stay afloat for 30 minutes against a hydraulic current from the dam.

Local firefighters rescued Capps by using a throw rope, according to reports. Farley was eventually swept under the river and did not resurface.

Farley was near the dam with a group of friends swimming, who also got swept over the dam because of the hydraulic current. Farley worked to get his friends to the river bed when he saw Capps, whose raft had capsized, and jumped in to help her.

“I felt his hand on my back as I tried to get on my floatie after going under,” Capps told local news. “Just having him be there next to me meant a lot. Without him there, I don’t think I would have been able to hold on as long as I did.”

Farley’s efforts kept Capps alive until emergency personnel were able to get to the pair and begin proper rescue efforts.

“Jake is definitely a hero,” Farley’s friend, Thaaron Gillis, told local CBS affiliate KWCH. “Without thinking, he jumped straight into it, knowing that it was a dangerous situation.”

“He didn't think twice about jumping in to save a complete stranger,” Shelley Farley wrote on a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses. “He is a true hero and died saving someone else's life with no regard for his own.”

Farley was a father to a 3-year-old boy.