‘Let me know who you are’: Woman trying to find guardian angel who saved her life at Henrico park

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - For Melinda Pereira, Echo Lake Park provides a peaceful escape from reality.

“This is one of my many parks I love,” she said. “This is my kind of de-stress, work it out, work out place when I’m on the way to work or on a lunch break. I like to do a couple of loops around here. It’s relaxing.”

On Nov. 5, Melinda’s outdoor outing quickly turned for the worst.

“Just something felt off,” she said. ”Apparently, I went unconscious.”

The next memory Melinda remembers is waking up in the hospital, where she later learned she went into cardiac arrest.

Pereira said first responders credited the quick thinking of a Good Samaritan for saving her life.

“Apparently, I was not breathing, no pulse, and unconscious, and some guardian angel that started the first steps to life-saving measures is why I’m still here today,” she said.

As Melinda continues on her road to recovery, the identity of the mystery bystander weighs heavily on her mind.

“The doctors said if everything wasn’t in alignment, it would’ve been a different outcome,” she said. “Nobody knows her name, they just said she was a nurse and that she did CPR, and I have the sore ribs to prove it, and that her efforts were vital to my recovery, to my survival.”

Standing in the same spot where this stranger jumped in to help, Melinda is determined to track her down.

“Don’t be a ghost,” said Pereira. “Let me know who you are.”

Melinda’s ultimate wish is to thank her personally for her heroic deed.

“I have three kids, I have six grandchildren. All who came together during this episode to the hospital. They wouldn’t have me if it were not for you,” she said. “I think you were meant to be in the spot that you were in.”

If you have any information about the identity of the mystery bystander, you can reach out to 12 On Your Side’s Desiree Montilla by emailing her at: desiree.montilla@12onyourside.com