The US state of Florida’s longest river, Saint Johns River, witnessed the sheer determination of a 7-year-old boy who swam for an hour to save his sister and dad in the violent river currents.
The incident took place when Steven Poust with his two children — Abigail, 4, and Chase, 7, went to the river for fishing in Jacksonville and anchored their boat there. The ugly turn of events took place when the children who were swimming near the boat drifted apart due to the strong current of the river, thus separating the family. In an interview with WJXT, a local news channel, Poust and Chase shared their dreadful experience.
Poust explained that Abigail was hanging out at the back of the boat, but due to a strong sudden current, she started to drift apart. Seeing this, the seven-year-old brother jumped in to rescue her but both got stuck, which made their father jump to rescue them.
Poust then directed his son to move towards the shore as he was not wearing a life jacket, and as he was swimming to the shore, he told his son that he loved him as he was not sure about “what’s going to happen next”, he added.
The father tried getting hold of his daughter, who was wearing a life jacket but was still stuck and continuously drifting away. He couldn’t hold on to her for too long due to the strong winds.
Meanwhile, Abigail covered the distance to the shore in only an hour. Poust said that his son used various swimming techniques to save him from getting tired too soon; he floated on his back and did doggy paddling to reach the shore. When asked about how he did this, he said, “I don’t know”, and explained that as the current was opposite to the way to the shore, it made it difficult for him to swim. After reaching the shore, he called for help. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD) mentioned that the father and daughter had drifted about two miles when they reached there.
JFRD spokesperson Eric Prosswimmer in a press conference revealed that they had to pool in more help. They called the Sheriff’s Office and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation to speed up the search. The officer mentioned that the three were rescued successfully and are in good health.
