The afternoon before this past Memorial Day, 7-year-old Chase Poust rose to meet an incredible challenge.
Chase, his father Steven, and his 4-year-old sister Abigail were spending the day on St. John's River in Florida near Mandarin point. Chase and Abigail were swimming together while Steven fished. Then, a strong current swept Abigail away from the boat.
Chase instantly let go of the boat to reach her while Steven leapt into the water. He wasn't sure if he could keep up with the kids as they drifted down the river.
"I told them I loved them 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."
Steven directed Chase to swim to shore for help while Steven drifted behind his daughter, praying that the life-vest she was wearing would keep her above the water.
Chase smartly chose to pace himself instead of barreling back to shore.
"The current was going the opposite way of going to the boat and the shore so it was very hard to swim that way," he said.
It took an hour for Chase to reach land, but the little boy was able to run to the nearest house and call for help. Steven and Abigail were located over a mile from the family's boat and rescued.
Steven is proud of his son and will likely not be forgetting this Memorial Day weekend anytime soon.