BOERNE, Texas – A 3-year-old boy was recognized as a hero Tuesday night by the Boerne Fire Department for his quick thinking that led to the rescue of his father and his young sister from high water.
Miles Butry was puddle jumping with his 6-year-old sister, Ella, and their father, Blake Butry, near their home on Windsor Drive on May 12, when something went wrong when were getting ready to leave.
“When I looked over, my daughter was sliding down the drain,“ said Butry, who then chased after her, but the water was swiftly pouring into an underground drainage ditch.
“I could see her pink jacket disappear into the pipe and I just went after her,” he said.
Blake Butry was able to find his daughter in the dark ditch and they rode the water about 250 feet into a culvert.
“Life slows down and you just focus on what’s in front of you,” Blake Butry said about the scary moments.
Afraid his son would fall in, Blake Butry kept one foot in the rushing water to catch him, singing worship songs, while they waited.
Miles then ran home scared to his mother.
“My daddy left me,” Jenielle Butry recalls her son telling her. “He said, ‘Ella fell in and my daddy went in to get her’ and I was a little at a loss."
Firefighters were called and they arrived in time to find the two about 15 feet underground. The two were pulled to safety without injury.
Capt. Chris Copeland was among the firefighters who helped with the rescue.
“Somehow he was able to stand himself in the shoot and there was a standing platform covered by water they were able to stand on,” Copeland said.
Copeland, the father of a 3-year-old, said Miles did an incredible thing.
“It’s awesome that a 3-year old was able to go home and let mom know that they were swept away,” he said.
Copeland said it was the first time in his 15 years with the fire department that a toddler helped with a rescue like this.
Miles received a firefighter’s helmet and a plaque for his heroic efforts. His family is grateful things turned out OK.
Copeland urges parents to talk to their toddlers about what to do during an emergency, and to learn vital information that could help emergency responders, such as their name, age, address or phone number.