See dramatic rescue of boy from freezing marsh

After watching this video released by New Jersey State Police I have no doubt in my mind this kid’s life was saved by troopers.

Nearing midnight on Sunday State Police Sgt. Carl Scowcroft, Trooper Matthew Hess and Trooper Thomas Rheault discovered a 14-year-old male runaway stuck waist deep in a marsh. The water was ice-cold. When they found him he was unresponsive. His breathing was slowed. He was showing all signs of hypothermia.

Scowcroft felt he had to act fast. The other troopers trained their flashlights on the boy as the sergeant bravely charged into the frigid water and mud to eventually pull the kid out. Members of the Alloway Township Fire Rescue soon joined the effort and the teen was pulled out on a backboard and carried up the embankment.

Here’s body cam footage of that rescue.

The boy was brought to a hospital and should recover. I can’t imagine what led to this poor kid feeling like running away from his home was a sound option. Nor can I imagine the hellishness of becoming stuck that way and slowly succumbing to hypothermia, the weakness and confusion that must have set in.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.