ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — A Port St. Lucie canine officer is being recognized with a prestigious LEO Award nomination after rescuing a woman who had been missing for nearly 48 hours in October 2025.
WATCH BELOW: 'I love what I do,' Port St. Lucie Officer Corey Krecic tells WPTV's Kayla McDermott
Officer Corey Krecic was assigned to the gang intelligence unit when he heard over the radio that responders may have been able to hear a female in an area near the Saint Lucie River. He responded to the scene, where crews could faintly hear a woman but had no way to reach her.
Krecic located the owner of a nearby civilian boat and asked for help.
"They said, or saying least, the police. Do you have a boat in the water? And I said, yeah, let's go," Krecic said.
The boat took them to where the 37-year-old woman was stranded.
"I didn't think it was gonna be good at all," Krecic said. "She was screaming like desperate, um, that she was very scared you can tell, uh, we're probably gonna, we're gonna go in there and get her."
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Krecic jumped off the boat and waded through the water to reach her.
"I had to go in some nasty water to get to her," he said. "There was, there were gators, yeah, yeah, we saw their eyes, yeah."
He said arriving even a few hours later could have been fatal.
"Yes, yes, either drowning or just the fatigue, no water, no food," Krecic said. "Her skin was kind of bloated from being in the water. It was, it was sad."
Once she was safely on the boat, the relief was immediate.
"It was huge sense of relief. We got her on the boat. She kept thanking us on the boat ride back to land," Krecic said. "It was, uh, it was very nice."
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Krecic said he did not know he had been nominated for the LEO Award, which recognizes law enforcement officers in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, until he was told the nomination came from the Chieftain.
"Oh, that's really cool. It's an honor," Krecic said.
He said winning the award would be meaningful, but the rescue itself matters more.
"I would feel honored. I love what I do and being able to help somebody like that means more to me than anything than being called a hero," Krecic said.
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