A seven-year-old boy, Chase Poust, is being praised as a hero after swimming for an hour to get help for his family. On Memorial Day weekend near Mandarin Point in Jacksonville, Florida, Chase was with his father, Steven, and his four-year-old sister, Abigail. While Steven was fishing, the current pulled Abigail away from their boat. Chase recounted, “The current was so strong that my sister … let go. So, I let go of the boat and grabbed her, and then, I was stuck.”
Chase, not wearing a life jacket, swam to shore using a mix of doggie paddle and floating on his back. After reaching land, he ran to get help. Steven later said, “I screamed for help at the top of my lungs and waved my arms and sure enough someone heard us.”
An hour later, Steven and Abigail were rescued, having drifted a mile from their boat. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue spokesperson Eric Prosswimmer remarked, “We couldn’t ask for a better outcome.”
