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Vacationer saves child not breathing on KDH beach
An unidentified man, reportedly an off-duty security officer from New Jersey, saved the life of a 3-year-old boy who was discovered in a water-filled hole Thursday afternoon near the Second Street beach access in Kill Devil Hills.
“When we arrived on the scene, the man said the boy had been playing in a hole dug on the beach that filled up with water, and he was found lying face down,” said T-Mike Morrison, director of Kill Devil Hills Ocean Rescue.
The identity of both the boy and his rescuer was not provided.
“The man said the boy was not breathing when he pulled him out of the water, he conducted CPR for about a minute to a minute and a half, and then the boy threw up water,” said Morrison.
“I picked the boy up . . . he seemed to be fine . . . carried him to the EMS crew on scene who checked him out, and they transported him to Outer Banks Hospital,” Morrison said.
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Katie says:
NICE!!! Its a wonderful thing that man did for this child and his family. Kudos to the unknown man!
Tess says:
Thank God there are angels on earth!
Shaking My Head says:
And the parents (or guardians) should be beaten nearly to death, allowed to heal, then beaten again.
KDH Rezident Evil says:
Well there’s a bit of good news. Bravo to the rescuer! Those holes beach-goers dig are dangerous in more ways than one if left unattended.
KDH Resident says:
another reason to not dig holes on the beach!!
gangneighbors says:
Nice story with a good ending for a change!!!!!
KHer says:
Kudos to the unidentified life saver.
People do no realize how dangerous those big holes can be. They can also cave in on little ones and cause hazards for lifeguards on the 4 wheelers. If you must dig one, please fill it in when you’re done playing. And keep little ones out of them.
charlie says:
There are many angels on the beach. They watch over the little ones who have parents who turn their chairs away from the water to get a better tan and don’t keep a watchful eye out for their children. Next time you walk the beach watch out for the idiot parents and then look for the angels sitting close by facing the water. More often than not they are gray haired locals who respect the power of mother nature.
This time it was a caring visitor….Thank you sir.
Rich Mallard says:
Thanx Be to that NJ hero! These holes dug T the beaches around here are getting out of hand. Kids and their parents will dig massive holes and then never fill them back in when they leave, creating potential injuries of others. And as for the parents of this child…WTF were YOU???
Rich Mallard says:
PS – ANOTHER thing getting WAY out of control, especially at 2nd Street KDH are these friggin’ sunshade tent canopies….tourons…just one more month to go…..
R says:
Was there a lifeguard near by??? Where was he/she??? Good for the off duty officer!!!
candyshop says:
Hey I know that guy! He did a wonderful thing saving that little boy, to the parents, you should keep a better eye on your kids, you never know who knows cpr and he could’ve died if help had come later.
Michael Garrigues says:
I was the guy at Second Street beach I saved Keegan and I am a Security Officer in Moorestown Mall in New Jersey not a cop. My name is Michael Garrigues!
Di says:
Michael, May God bless you and return your wonderful deed and kindness 7 fold.
Chris says:
Yay for happy endings!
(‘tourons’? Is that what you call us? That is pretty funny! I’ll watch my kid (like a hawk) and will do my best to respect residents! (Including my parents who live in Kitty Hawk!)
Sam Walker says:
I NEVER try to get personal here, but as a parent of three I think I should answer the question, “Where were the parents?”
My oldest son, James, was 3 years old…we were spending the day at Oregon Inlet along the Bait Pond when you could still drive to it on the east end.
Wading in with mom HOLDING his hand, they stepped off a ledge into water OVER THEIR HEAD.
I was probably 50 feet away…she PANICKED and didn’t know what to do, while I ran into the water and plucked him right out…he never even acted like anything happened, probably wasn’t under for more than a few seconds…in fact he said he was kicking his arms and legs like we had been teaching him.
My wife reminded me of this story today, she panicked and really didn’t know what to do at the moment, her brain just shut off and her emotions took over…while someone else calmly reacted to the emergency.
The moral of the story is, a parent can be right there, holding their hand, sitting in that hole with that child…the water came in, and overcame them, he wasn’t breathing, and the parent’s emotion overcame their ability to react…it’s nothing a parent should be faulted for, nor any human, it just happens that way.
I hope this is a reminder to THINK before you COMMENT, especially when it involves an ACCIDENT and a CHILD.
ponybird says:
Thanks to the “Touron for saving this little boy” We welcome visitors to the Outer Banks and hope you will enjoy your stay. We appreciate your business!!
Michael Garrigues says:
I agree everyone reacts differently to stressful sistuations! When I saved the child I didn’t care about anything other than bringing him back to life! It only takes a split second for a child to be injured. I’m just glad I was there,I was there for a reason! That boy is lucky our rental house was on Second Street because that’s where we were on the beach! I am a security officer at the Moorestown Mall in New Jersey and we are trained for CPR. I think me saving this boy should be a great story,for once good news to report! I am just glad I was at the right place at the right time!
102 says:
Outstanding job. Wish more people would open there eyes and watch what was going on around them.
Larry Sanders says:
God works in mysterious ways. This man Michael should not be thanked as he was merely our Lord’s vessel. Men can not take credit for the divine.
baileysmomma says:
@ Mr. SANDERS….You should thank the man. We may all be the Lords vessesl…but we still have to answer the call. And we are always free to do so or not. Doors can be opened but we still have to decide on going through them or not.