Chase, 7, is the brave youngster who outswam a current that separated him from his father and 4-year-old sister at a river near Mandarin Point.
Steven Poust, Chase’s father, told WJXT that he anchored his boat on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, to let his two children, Chase, 7, and Abigail, 4, swim and play in the river while he was fishing.
But all of a sudden, Abigail, who usually hangs out at the back of the boat to play had let go because of a strong current. So Chase decided to also let go in order to try to keep her from drifting, but then they were both stuck.
“I felt really scared,” Chase said.
Chase did not have a life jacket on, but his sister did. She floated along with the current as Steven jumped in the water to try and help them grabbing Abigail and told his 7-year-old son to swim to the shore.
“I told them I loved him because I wasn’t sure what’s going to happen,” Steven said. “I tried to stick with both of them. I wore myself out. She drifted away from me.”
But Chase kept swimming and it took him an hour to get into the shore. He told WJXT that he floated on his back and doggie paddled so he would not get worn out. When he reached land, he knocked on the nearest house and asked for help.
“The current was going the opposite way of going to the boat and the shore so it was very hard to swim that way,” Chase said.
Meanwhile, his dad and sister were stuck in the water for an hour-long and they have been drifted away about a mile and a half to two miles away from the boat’s location before being rescued by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD).
“I screamed for help at the top of my lungs and waved my arms and sure enough someone heard us,” Steven said. “Little man also made it to shore and got help and that’s what saved our lives.”
Eric Prosswimmer, JFRD’s spokesperson, said in a news conference that after the rescue team had reached the boat, they had to call in other agencies to expand the search.
If it wasn’t for the help of his colleagues the outcome could have been different, Prosswimmer said. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission aided to rescue the family.
“We had every resource we could have possibly had coming quickly and we’re happy to say all three have been recovered, and all three are doing well,” Prosswimmer stated. “We couldn’t ask for a better outcome”.
Prosswimmer has also added that neither the 7-year-old nor the father were required to wear a life vest. He said the law applies to children age 6 and under for a vessel that’s under 26 feet.