Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

Tragedy averted this time.

Last night my daughter told me there were fire trucks and police cars at a house two doors away from us on Sandmound Blvd. This morning I asked my neighbor Mark what happened, and he said a 3 year old fell off a moored boat. Mark heard what he thought was a child whimpering, came out of his moored houseboat, and dove in to rescue the child. He passed the child up to my other neighbor, who applied CPR, and the child lived. The child did NOT have on a life jacket, even though it was on a boat.

Life jackets save lives. That's what they're for. Use them!

Awesome job to the guys who jumped into action! Wish more people would put there kids in life jackets, my kids don’t even go near any body of water weather by the dock throwing rocks walking around stream fishing, some people just don’t realize how dangerous water can be. Great job on the rescue guys!

I just got chills reading this... that is absolutely terrifying. So glad the child is safe.

It is so lucky that Mark was even home, that he heard her whimpering through the walls of his houseboat, that he went out to investigate, and that he had the heart to dive in to save her. Plus, the other neighbor, who was out on his dock on the other side of me, had just completed a CPR course and was there to scoop her up from Mark and revive her. All in all, an amazing series of fortunate circumstances.
I think we all dodge bullets in our lives to reach adulthood, stuff that could have killed us but didn't. I'm just glad those folks were there to help that kid dodge this one.

Thanks for sharing Mark. Good reminder to be careful out there.

I'm sorry where were the parents.
As an ex registered lifeguard. Why was this child alone and a neighbor had to save her.
Over and Over and Over. I get so upset at these stories!

Sorry for the rant.

R. Duzac wrote:I'm sorry where were the parents.
As an ex registered lifeguard. Why was this child alone and a neighbor had to save her.
Over and Over and Over. I get so upset at these stories!

Sorry for the rant.

My thoughts exactly.
There is no excuse for having an infant on a boat, moored or otherwise, without a life jacket.

too many stories go the other way, glad this one had a happy ending!

Glad this one had a happy ending. Far too many do not, which is all the more tragic when the majority are preventable. Supervise kids. Life jackets. Swimming lessons. Safe boat operation.

Update:
Evidently the family was spending the night on a friend's cabin cruiser. The three year old boy got up in the middle of the night, threw or dropped some of his toys overboard, and then went in himself.
The mother had tucked him in, and then gone to bed herself.
I guess there is no way to make sure this couldn't happen, other than locking the bedroom door.
The boy is doing fine, and there don't seem to be any long term health issues.
Having almost drown myself when I was very young, I can imagine he may have water issues for the rest of his life, but he'll be around to deal with them, so that's a good thing.