After a boating mishap over Memorial Day weekend, a 7-year-old child swam 1 mile to obtain help for his father and younger sister.
According to the Christian Post, Steven Poust docked his boat so that his children, Chase, 7, and Abigail, 4, could go swimming in the river while he fished.
Unexpectedly, Abigail was swept away by a violent current. When he saw his sister being swept away by the water, Chase dropped the boat to swim after her, but the river took him along with her.
"The current was so strong that my sister - she usually hangs out at the back of the boat - and she let go. So, I let go of the boat and grabbed her, and then, I was stuck," Chase told WJXT.
In an attempt to save his children, Steven leapt into the water. However, the current was too powerful for him. Chase's anxious father then instructed him to swim to shore for assistance.
"I told them I loved them because I wasn't sure what's going to happen. I tried to stick with (Abigail) as long as I could, with both of them, I wore myself out and she drifted away from me," Steven said.
The 7-year-old wasn't obliged to wear a life jacket, so he didn't have one on at the time. He then began the 1-mile swim back to shore, alternating between floating on his back and using the dog paddle. He swam for an hour until he was eventually able to reach the beach and knock on someone's door for assistance.
"The current was going the opposite way of going to the boat and the shore, so it was very hard to swim that way," he recalled.
The man and his daughter had been in the water for more than an hour before being rescued. Because she was wearing a life jacket, the girl was able to stay afloat. They had drifted roughly 2 miles away from the boat before they were found by rescue crews.
Three separate agencies-the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, the sheriff's office, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-came to the aid of Poust and his daughter.
The spokesman for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department made a statement at a press conference stating that they did locate the boat, but they needed to bring in other agencies to conduct a wider search. The results may have been different if the other agencies hadn't stepped in to aid.
"We had every resource we could have possibly had coming quickly, and we're happy to say all three have been recovered, and all three are doing well," the spokesperson said. "We couldn't ask for a better outcome."
"We're here. By the grace of God, we're here," a relieved Steven said. "Little man ... made it to shore and got help, and that's what saved our lives."
Chase was only seven years old, yet he was able to save his family and himself on Friday night from being swept by the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. He is being celebrated as a hero because of it.
When asked how he became such a good swimmer, the boy said: "I have no idea."
