7-Year-Old Boy Rescues His Dad and Little Sister

 

A brave young boy saved his father and 4-year-old sister from a boat situation that could have led to a terrible disaster. During the Memorial Day weekend, Chase Poust, 7, his father Steven Poust, and his little sister Abigail went for a boating excursion on Florida’s St. Johns River near Mandarin Point.

As Poust was fishing on deck, his two kids were swimming at the stern of the anchored boat, until a strong current began to sweep Abigail away from the boat. Chase noticed his sister’s grip loosening so he let go of the boat to grab her. Their father immediately jumped into the water and instructed Chase to swim to shore for help.

“I tried to stick with both of them. I wore myself out. She drifted away from me,” Poust told News-4 JAX. At the realization of not being able to keep up with both his kids, he directed Chase to get help, while keeping as close as he could to Abigail. But the life-vest made it harder to reach her: it kept her afloat, but the waves pushed her away from him.

It took Chase an hour to reach the shore. He said he would doggie paddle, then float on his back to make sure he wouldn’t tire himself out. He told JAX, “The current was going the opposite way of going to the boat and shore so it was very hard to swim that way.”

Once Chase arrived on land, he ran to the nearest house and called for help. Members of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were then dispatched to search for the boy’s father and sister.

“I screamed for help at the top of my lungs and waved my arms and made sure enough someone heard us,” Poust said. “Little man also made it to shore and got help and that’s what saved our lives.”

He says he couldn’t be prouder and more grateful for his son.

Watch the story of the little boy rescuing his family below.

 

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