Shaun and Lianne Nugent. (Image Credit: Facebook)

By Ashley Legassic

SEARCH FOR DONATIONS

Kamloops woman seeking donations to help family of Good Samaritan who died after water rescue

Aug 7, 2019 | 2:05 PM

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops woman is hoping local businesses can provide donations to help the family of a man who died after saving a woman from a lake.

Melissa Empey says her family is close with the family of Shaun Nugent.

“Just a close, really awesome family and our kids kind of grew up with their kids,” Empey says. “Shaun was a great guy. He was always there to help everybody, he just was amazing.”

Nugent died hours after saving a woman from Hayward Lake in the Lower Mainland. Empey says he’s believed to have died from secondary drowning.

“It didn’t shock me at all when I found out that Shaun had gone into the water and… saved this lady’s life,” she says. “He was a football coach, he was a funny guy, always the life of the party. We’re going to miss him.”

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Empey says friends and family are coming together this weekend for a fundraiser to help the Nugents.

“It’s an invite-only fundraiser coming up this Saturday, it’s being hosted by some good friends of Lianne and Shaun’s who just live on some property right near them. We have some local musicians coming down to support us as well, giving us their free time,” Empey says. “We’re also looking for some donations for a silent auction, so anything that people even from the Lower Mainland can use if they’re coming through Kamloops or through the Okanagan or whatever. Anything, a couple nights stay at a hotel.

Shaun loved fishing, that was his passion, he loved to fish, so you know fishing resorts just anything that could help so that we can raise some money for this family so that they’re not suffering and we don’t want Lianne to have to worry for the next little while, where the income’s going to come from.”

Empey is hoping to hear from local fisheries, resorts, hotels, artists or any other business owners who are able to donate to the silent auction.

“Obviously this is a really quick kind of turn around and we need to just get whatever I can,” she says. “Gary’s Deli has donated over $100 worth of meat that I’ll bring down with me, I’m looking at a couple other places, like I’m trying to get a hold of some resorts up here… maybe if they can donate a couple nights stay or even just donate it for Lianne and the kids to go.”

“That’s our goal is just to make it comfortable for them so they don’t have to worry too much. We’ve had such an outpouring from all different communities and it’s just unreal how much people have come together for this. I love B.C. It’s awesome.”

Empey also urges the woman who was saved by Nugent to reach out.

“They never got her name or anything and we don’t want her to feel guilty or feel bad.”

For anyone who wants to donate to the silent auction, you can reach out to Empey at melandmerc@live.com.

There is a GoFundMe set up to also help with the family’s needs.