SANFORD — The fall rendered her ankle painful and swollen, and although Jennifer Copper suspected a break, at the time she didn’t know that her ankle was broken in three places.

What she did know was that it would stand no pressure, and she was deep on a trail that began at Springvale Recreation Area ”“ with her 28-month-old twins in tow. She had no cell phone and couldn’t call for help.

Copper assessed her situation and quickly realized she couldn’t walk, so she crawled on her hands and knees, holding her injured foot in the air, making a game of it for the twins, Lucas and Gracey. They played with pine cones while Copper inched her way along.

“The only way to get out (of the woods) was to crawl,” she said. Fearful the children might wander off, Copper urged the youngsters to join in.

“I got the kids to crawl with me,” she said in an interview Monday, her ankle bandaged and splinted ”“ and still painful. “I really couldn’t freak out ”¦ my fear was they’d run, and I couldn’t do anything. I had to block the pain out and make sure the kids were okay.”

Copper, who was raised in Wells, moved back to the area a year ago after spending the past 20 years on the West Coast. On the day of her injury, April 18, she had taken the twins to the playground at the recreation area and then decided to try a nature walk. They’d walked about 45 minutes in on the trail when she slipped on some pine cones and leaves. She tried to regain her balance using her right foot, but couldn’t, and her foot rolled over a boulder.

“I heard a lot of cracking,” she said.

Mike Laurendeau was at Springvale Recreation Area that day with his nieces and nephew, 9-year-old Marissa and 5-year-old twins Haley and Nick. It was school vacation week, and he was baby-sitting. He decided to take the children on a walk.

“We took our time,” said Laurendeau. “I wanted to take them on a tour of the trail and show them Indian’s Last Leap,” a local landmark.

They walked for a bit, and then he saw someone ahead on the trail.

“I saw her on her hands and knees in a gully,” said Laurendeau Monday morning, visiting with Copper and her family. “And I saw the two little kids.”

At first, he thought maybe the woman was looking for something she’d lost. But he got closer, and she started yelling for help.

Copper figured she and her children had crawled for about an hour before Laurendeau and his nieces and nephew appeared. As she and the children crawled along the trail, she’d hoped someone would come along, but she worried about that, too, because it might not be someone with good intentions.

“I’ve never been more happy to see anyone,” Copper said when she saw Laurendeau and the three youngsters heading down the trail.

“She was very calm,” said Laurendeau, “almost like heroic calm, she was trying to manage the kids. Her foot was hanging and you could see how she’d crawled down the gully.”

Laurendeau passed Copper his cell phone and asked his nieces and nephew to take charge of the 28-month-old twins while Copper called her mother for help.

“Then we had to figure out how to get Jen out. I stood her up and threw her on my back and we walked out,” he said.

Copper was worried Laurendeau might get injured himself, but Laurendeau is a longtime water ski buff who participates in shows ”“ he’s the guy who usually has people standing on his shoulders.

As they talked and waited for Copper’s mother to arrive, the two realized their families knew each other, and at one point several years ago, their siblings dated. Copper and Laurendeau attended the same high school, a few years apart.

Copper said she’s grateful that Laurendeau came along when he did.

He said he was happy to be able to help.

“He was really great. He kept me calm and tried to take my mind off the pain,” Copper said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.