Lake rescue: 'I think there were angels there yesterday'
GASTON, Ore. – The Gibson family's reunion at Hagg Lake turned into an incredible rescue Saturday.
Family members saved eight kids from drowning after they ran into the lake and fell into a deep drop off in the water 15 feet off the shore.
Family members told KATU News their reunion was almost over. They were packing up to leave when they heard some of the children screaming.
“I noticed one of the moms - I’m assuming - was waving her arms yelling help,” said Eric MacLean. “I just took off running toward her.”
“I started yelling ‘they’re drowning! They’re drowning!’ So I went out,” said Michelle Rushing. “We formed a chain. I had tripped over a couple of them. I was trying to get down. I brought one of them up.”
The family used their feet to find the kids, who were all under the water. Some of them were stuck in the mud at the bottom of the lake.
"Most of them were unresponsive," MacLean said. "They didn't look like there was any life left in them."
"I rolled her on her side and as soon as I started patting her, her eyes started blinking," said Lura Kirby. "And we turned around, there was a 12-year-old. He was just laying on his back. Didn't seem like he was very conscious either. I rolled him on his back. As soon as I rolled him, he started being conscious."
Gaston Fire District spokesman Ken Bilderback said the kids, ages 6 to 13, ran into the lake but did not see a steep drop off in the water. A stream channel runs near the beach area.
"It's a deceptive drop off. It goes from not very deep to deep without warning," said Bilderback.
None of the children was wearing life jackets.
“You couldn’t see any kids in the water,” said MacLean. “It was just kinda reaching down trying to grab whatever you could.”
The children were taken to local hospitals and are now doing fine.
“I think there were angels there yesterday,” said Lura Kirby. “That’s the only way I can explain it.”
Am I the only one that thinks this whole story is strange? All 8 kids just happened to be drowning at the same time? I have yet to see any mention of parents, or any adults that were with these kids. Don't get me wrong, I am really glad they were all saved, but.....
Wow you guys suck.
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I'm sure as parents you've never EVER looked away for 1 second ... ever. Right? Ever. Perfect, 100%.Â
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Kids are kids and accidents HAPPEN. Maybe they were at a reunion from a state where they don't swim a lot. Who knows... you don't know the entire story.
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I used to work as a lifeguard and it would shock you on the number of kids that can't swim, or float even. YES lifejackets should have been on and stayed on until they were being loaded into the car; however, they are old enough that even if they had them on, they could have easily removed them if they had wanted to.Â
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Thankfully, these people had quick reflexes and they were smart enough to come up with a system and they managed to save all of the kids, which would not be easy, esp once panic set in. Good job family, and may you have MANY more happy reunions!!! Please teach swim lessons though, it saves lives. and LIFEJACKETS :)Â
You know what. As a parent it is your responsibility to take care of your children. The fact that they were at a lake and were not wearing life jackets when the parents knew none of them could swim is very irresponsible. And why were the parents just up on the grass screaming that they were drowning. Why were they not in the water trying to save their own children? People are not being mean on here just realistic. It is a simple solution. If you take your kids to a lake and they cannot swim make sure you go there prepared...  Thank God for the family that was there to save them. Had they not been there I am sure we would be reading a different headline.
None of the kids could swim ?? And the parents let them in the water without life jackets ? Sounds like even minimal common sense wasn't used !
I remember myself swimming in skinny-dipping as a kid, and I can't help but wonder â why didn't they just swim back to shore? Do you have a bunch of kids who actually cannot swim at all, playing a lake? I wasn't there and I didn't see it happen and I just don't get it, not trying to vilify anyone. But if the water suddenly gets really deep because of a drop off, you bob to the surface and start doing the dog paddle if you have to, towards were it's shallow.
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 @HarryJuku Oh just you wait, lawsuits against the state and county will happen because the nice safe approved swimming area wasn't roped off for the kiddies, or something. A lot of people don't grasp the concept â it's a lake! Not the apartment complex swimmy-pool
Good job Gibson family rescuers! You are all hero's. :)
 @3X07 I think some adults did what it's normal for adults to do when kids are in trouble, the word "heroes" is tossed around far too liberally these days.
The three Nephites protected them. It is obvious
@Hala Maksoud Yes, Shadrack, Meshack, and Tobedwego
"FAITH" you idiots. That is what faith is all about, Believing that there is something, or someone mightier than ones self. But from your comments, I can see, that FAITH is something you have never experienced. And for that, I feel sorry for you. Good Job, and thanks to the Family that was there to help.
 @springfvr Wasn't it Jesus who said "It is harder for a child with a life vest to drown than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven?" - or something like that.
HA ! I thought it was "heysus" (phonetics)Â who said that !
@springfvr
What does faith have to do with humans rescuing humans? It looks to me like humans acted (unless one of those acting was named Faith). There didn't appear to be a superior being present or at least if there was it was uninterested in the fate of the children. That's why humans saved them. Amazing how those that believe in magic and fairy tales always want to credit something other than those that actually performed the rescue. And, springfvr, name calling is never a good thing to do.
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Congratulations to all the rescuers for your quick thinking and action. sprinfvr would still be waiting for faith to show up.
 @I812  @springfvr you just made my point !!! Faith did show up, you just don't recognize it. The Gibson family does, and thus the reference to Angels. " Oh, Thee of Little Faith "... Sound familiar ? ... And people ask, What is Wrong with this Country ??
Nice work. They saw a problem, came up with plan quickly, executed it and the results were nothing short of spectacular.
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Very-very nice job Eric and family. You above posters need to stay on topic a little better.
 @beaner THANK YOU for the "on topic" comment.
What's with the 'angels'??!!?!?! Â Pure luck that those kids did not drown. Life jackets, swimming lessons, observant parents are what's needed.....NOT angels. Â All those little kids in the water with no supervision...sounds like a case of neglect.Â
@KKStJohn
If no one was watching the kids they'd all be dead and although I do wonder if the kids could swim (no mention of it) a drop off like that could take an OK swimmer by surprise and reduce chances of getting back to shore.
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15 ft from shore is nothing, I'm sure there was an assumption of safety although I would never assume that.
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BTW- angels do exist.
 @KKStJohn who poured vinegar in your Cheerios this morning? Geez. You are criticizing the rescuers choice of words? These folks who rescued these kids were there and if they attribute their success to angels helping, then let them....because *you* >weren't< there rescuing these kids, I notice.
 @whirledworld  @KKStJohn I think the point is that angels don't exist and angels do not deserve any credit for anything.
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If there were "angels" there, eight kids wouldn't have needed to be rescued from drowning. I don't understand the backwards logic of magical beings rescuing people from disaster.
 @Emperor KATU When I was a kid I was climbing a 30 ft rock wall near a stream, I was heading back down and something that wasn't me told I was going to fall (it probably would have killed me). I was actually quite shaken up and stopped climbing right there. Later in life I was parking with my girlfriend on a cold night, car running but I had exhaust problems. We fell asleep and it would have killed us, something woke me up.
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That's how angels work, they'll whisper in an ear, get your attention, cause you to look, some people dismiss it. Angels and Demons both exist.
"None of the children was wearing life jackets."
That says it all....as a former lifeguard remember parents....it only takes a second! Â Use life jackets and better yet put your kids in swim lessons!Â