DELTONA, Florida — A Florida sheriff’s deputy ran through the woods, tore off his bulletproof vest and ran into a pond after hearing the cries of a missing 5-year-old autistic boy.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Deputy Wes Brough lifted the boy into his arms and the child wrapped his arms tightly around Brough’s neck as they walked back to dry land Tuesday evening in Deltona, near Daytona Beach on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
“I thanked God so much for putting me in that position, number one, and number two, for letting that kid come up and breathe just fine when we got there,” Brough said. “That’s all credit to God for putting me in the right place at the right time.”
Officers responded to a report of a missing child around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The father told officers the child had escaped through a door on the second floor, setting off an alarm, according to an incident report posted on the Sheriff’s Facebook Page.
The family and neighbors began searching. Someone called 911.
Brough and several other officers went to a nearby pond after hearing that the child was attracted to water, the report said.
At approximately 7:48 p.m., Brough heard the boy’s voice and saw him holding a log in the water.
According to sheriff’s officials, the boy’s family had taken several measures to secure the home, including an alarm on the door, which alerted them that the child had left the house.
Brough credited the training they received, including Autism Awareness Training, with preparing him to be ready for any situation. The rescue was captured on the officer’s body camera.
“I have three children of my own, one of whom is 5 years old,” Brough said. “So when he held me so tightly, it felt like it was my own child holding me.”