Man meets crew who saved him from cardiac arrest

Updated: 9:14 PM EST Nov 20, 2021

Jean Theard is miraculously still around despite being in full cardiac arrest a few months ago."Last thing I remember is coming out of the bathroom after chewing a few aspirins because I couldn't find my nitro. Came out of the bathroom, that was it, light's out," Theard said.Theard was happy to be surrounded by lifesavers at the Seminole County, Florida, fire station closest to his home.Seminole County’s Deputy Chief Matt Kinley was ready to give out some lifesaving awards.“We've got someone walking around that might not have been,” Kinley said.It was July and Theard's heart had stopped. His girlfriend got CPR coaching from 911 as rescuers rolled."Anything that could have gone right, went right,” Lt. Stephen Armstrong said.Station 26 got there in under five minutes and brought him back. But they needed to get his stopped heart going again on the way to the hospital."They get them to us. If they didn't get them to us, we couldn't do the magic that we do,” Linda Hardison of Orlando Health said.When Theard heard awards were being delivered to the crew which saved him, he said he had to be there in person."My girlfriend called, they responded and here I am,” Theard said.Certainly, as Theard slides into this year's Thanksgiving table, in the back of his mind, he'll be thinking about the importance of one of those fire rescue crews.“ is going to taste real good this year. I have a birthday coming up on Monday too,” Theard said.Plenty of reasons to celebrate."If it wasn't for them, like you say, Thanksgiving would be pretty dull without me around,” Theard said.Theard said he never misses a chance to thank a first responder.

Several Hilltown, Pennsylvania, police officers helped save a distressed horse from a burning barn last week, which was captured by an officer’s body-worn camera.

Officer Matthew Reiss told KYW-TV that he did not have much time to get Phoebe the horse out of the barn.

"Quickly improvise, and come up with a solution to get that animal out,” Reiss said.

Other horses were in the barn at the time of the fire and were rescued by friends and family, but Phoebe was reportedly too spooked to follow.

That’s when the officers and horse trainer Lena Obernesser teamed to get Phoebe out. Obernesser used a shirt to cover her eyes and push the horse to safety as Reiss used a rope to pull Phoebe to safety. Phoebe then ran to safety.

"She was definitely terrified, the cops were fantastic though, they jumped right in,” Obernesser told KYW. “I saw the footage and I was just in awe. Like oh my God, thank God they were here."

Obernesser credited the officers for rescuing Phoebe.

“They really stepped up, we had so many people reaching out,” she said. “it was, I was so proud to be a part of this community."

After a week, Phoebe is reportedly in good health. The condition of the barn is still being calculated, but members of the community have started a fundraiser to help the Red Wing Farm care for their horses.

The Gabby Petito case has highlighted another issue – making sure we give attention to other missing and unidentified people in the United States.

Right now, there is a gaping hole in how police report missing people and track them. 

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System – or NamUs – is a federally funded online database for missing, unidentified or unclaimed people in the U.S.

It's often described by cold-case experts as law enforcement's most effective and accurate missing person databases.

The problem is many people just aren't using it.

Unlike national and state databases law enforcement is currently required to report to, this system lets users post pictures, track DNA and it can be accessed by anyone at any time.

Ten states – including New York and California – have passed laws mandating law enforcement use NamUs.

Additionally, legislation is quickly moving through Texas and Pennsylvania.

Florida remains among the majority of states that make reporting to NamUs voluntary for law enforcement.

With an estimated several thousand people still missing and unidentified in the sunshine state, Hernando County detective George Loydgren agrees it's time Florida makes NamUs a requirement for law enforcement.

"It's a no-lose situation," Loydgren said. "It doesn't take that long to input the data and you reach a wide audience. If it inevitably helps you locate a missing person, that's what you want to do."

Katie LaGrone at Newsy first reported this story.

GEAUGA COUNTY, Ohio — Danny Tiller is a typical 13-year-old. The Ohio boy plays football and wrestles for the 8th-grade team at Berkshire Local Schools. But earlier this month, Tiller did something not so typical for a teenager—he saved a life.

“It was a fight-or-flight kind of thing,” said Tiller.

The Tiller family vacationed in Alabama over Labor Day weekend and went swimming at the Little River Canyon National Preserve.

“It’s a pretty wide river, and the part where you jump off the rocks, it turns into a waterfall and it gets pretty deep,” he said.

Danny’s mom, Faith, watched as he and his family members jumped into the water and as a man jumped in shortly after them.

Danny and his family members successfully navigated the current and swam back to land, but Faith says she was confused to see Danny jump back into the river.

“I saw Danny jump back in and I was like, ‘Why is he jumping back in?’” she said.

But Danny jumped back in because he saw the man who had been on the cliff edge with him struggling against the river’s current.

“I saw him flail his arms and he asked for help, and I jumped in feet first,” Danny said. “I grabbed him under the shoulder and under his arm.”

It was a scary sight for his mom and dad to watch as they ran to help.

“I was watching from above and by the time Danny got to him, he was completely under the water,” said Faith.

Danny eventually got the unconscious man to the edge of the river, where his brother and cousins helped get him up.

“I noticed he wasn’t breathing, so I just started doing chest compressions on him,” he said.

While the 13-year-old wasn’t formally trained, he said he knew some general training.

“I heard you’re supposed to do it to the ‘Stayin' Alive’ song,” he said. “My mother is a nurse and she kind of says things and I just kind of picked it up from other places.”

His efforts were successful, and the man regained consciousness.

“By the time I got there, he was just starting to breathe,” said Faith.

Danny said he hasn’t talked to the man since the event, but said he just wanted to help.

“I saw him struggling and there was no one around me, so he probably wouldn’t have made it if I wasn’t there. It was a fight-or-flight kind of thing,” he said.

He proved to be a heroic and humble 13-year-old.

“I am just very proud of him,” said Faith. “I know that he has greatness in his future.”

This story was originally published by Jessi Schultz at WEWS.

A dolphin that was pushed into a canal in Louisiana during Hurricane Ida was rescued Sunday morning.

It was a team effort Sunday as Chief Randy Fandal with the Slidell Police Department and many other organizations came out to the Schneider Canal to assist in the capture of the dolphin.

Nearly a dozen people got into the water to rescue the dolphin. You can watch video of that rescue in the video player above.

They were able to secure the dolphin onto an orange tarp and load it into a vehicle that had a tank of water.

The dolphin then received a police escort and was transported to a vet. Police said the dolphin will then go to The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies for rehabilitation.

An officer with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is being remembered for his strong work ethic and passion for the job.

Jason Lagore died Tuesday night of an apparent heart attack while responding to a rescue at Rocky Point Lake in Highland County.

"He assisted on countless, countless search and rescues, bringing closure to families and also finding people and being able to help them," said LaGore's friend, Shaun Lentini.

Tuesday night, LaGore was trying to help a teenager who fell into icy water.

Around 6:30 p.m., a 13-year-old boy started screaming for help near a private dock. A nearby contractor heard his cry and called 911.

"I'm at Rocky Fork. I had some little kid come up to me and said his sister's in the water dead," the caller said. "He come running up to us saying, 'Somebody please help me, please help me.'"

The Paint Creek Joint Fire District responded to the scene.

"By the time our crews got there, she was under the ice," said Lt. Branden Jackman.

Jackman said they called in additional units from Hamilton and Franklin counties to help.

"The water was 36 degrees. Ya know, you look at water and think, 'It's just water.' A 36-degree water is no different than a three-story house fire. They'll both kill you just as quick," Jackman said.

The 16-year-old's body was recovered about four-and-a-half hours later. The coroner said she drowned. He is waiting until all of her family members are notified before he releases her name.

Sometime during the rescue-recovery mission, LaGore fell in the water after suffering a medical emergency. First responders tried to save him. He died at the hospital. The Highland County Coroner said preliminary results indicate LaGore had a heart attack.

"It affects us all. We all feel it because we're all family," Jackman said.

Lentini said LaGore had a big heart and big vision. He said LaGore began the K9 program for the division of parks and watercraft at ODNR and has since led the first K9 academy. He had worked for ODNR for the past 15 years.

"He was well respected. He did a lot of training around all of Ohio. He worked with a lot of organizations with search and rescue," Lentini said. "When he wasn't working, he loved hunting. He was a guy that I went over his house for dinner and he'd send me home with some deer."

Lentini said LaGore was a big family man. He is survived by his wife, Michelle, two small sons and his K9 partner, Sarge.

The FOP Lodge 149 has started a fundraiser for LaGore's family. More information can be found here:

https://www.unit2.org/jasonlagorek9

Two police officers and bystanders saved an 8-month-old baby who became trapped underneath a car after a driver hit a mother and baby in Yonkers, New York, police said.

Around 8:30 a.m. Friday, the driver swerved around a corner, struck a curb and hit a parked car before hitting the 36-year-old mother, according to a news release from the Yonkers Police Department. Surveillance video from the scene shows she was crossing the street with her baby when she was hit.

The car then crashed into a barber shop, pinning the baby underneath the car, police said.

Two officers who were getting breakfast at a nearby bagel shop responded when they heard the collision and found the mother in the wreckage of the crash inside the barber shop, police said.

"The officers with the help of bystanders heroically LIFTED THE VEHICLE off of the baby so she could be rescued and given medical aid. The officers then rendered medical aid to both victims while requesting the necessary additional resources to the scene," the release said.

The mother suffered a broken leg and her baby sustained a skull fracture and third-degree burns to her back and foot, police said. Both were transported to a local hospital for treatment and are expected to survive their injuries, police said. The owner of the barber shop suffered a minor cut. The identities of the victims were not released.

A felony complaint filed in court named David Poncurak, 43, as the driver, and alleged that Poncurak was driving while intoxicated, "as shown by observations of the defendant, which included the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, glassy eyes, and impaired speech."

Poncurak and his female passenger weren't injured. Police said the driver had a suspended license and they found an alcoholic beverage inside the car.

Poncurak was arrested and charged with second-degree aggravated vehicular assault causing serious physical injury to more than one other person, according to the complaint.

CNN has reached out to Poncurak's attorney for comment.

"It is always a tragedy when someone is injured by the reckless and criminal acts of another person, and that is only amplified when those injured include an infant," said Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller in a statement.

"The actions taken [by the two police officers] are nothing short of heroic. The individual arrested in this incident will now have to face the consequences of his alleged behavior," Mueller said.

A boat from Cuba capsized in the storm-hit Straits of Florida this week, spurring a search in which nine people were still missing Wednesday after 13 were rescued, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Crews of two Coast Guard cutters were still searching for the missing on Wednesday, the service said.

The boat carrying 22 people capsized at about 8 p.m. Monday after departing Cuba, survivors told the Coast Guard.

Tropical Storm Elsa would have been crossing Cuba east of Havana at the time, and its outer bands would have been affecting the seas.

A bulk carrier ship's crew found people Tuesday afternoon in the water some 26 miles southeast of Key West, reported this to the Coast Guard and rescued some of them, the service said.

A Coast Guard cutter responded to the area, and its small boat crew rescued others from the water, the Coast Guard said. In total, 13 were rescued, according to the service. Fifteen people earlier had been reported rescued.

Survivors told the Coast Guard that nine people — seven males and two females — are missing.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Police investigators are praising staff at a Florida bar for rescuing a woman who was allegedly being sexually assaulted in a restroom.

According to St. Petersburg police, Jarrod Kennedy Matchett lured the female victim into the bathroom at The Dog Bar St. Pete Sunday afternoon.

Investigators say the man and woman met that day and had been bar-hopping beforehand.

“They went into the restroom together,” said Yolanda Fernandez with the police department. “At that point, things changed.”

WFTS learned the victim used her cell phone to send an urgent message to the bar’s Facebook page while the violent attack was underway.

Management at The Dog Bar shared the message with WFTS. It reads in part, “Help me, please call the police.”

“When I first saw the message, I don’t think I really even stopped to think about what was going on,” said manager Stephanie Marble. “I just felt like I needed to act.”

Marble and a trusted customer immediately went to the restroom area, pounding on every door.

Marble soon rescued the victim, escorting her to a safe space, and called the police.

“Pretty traumatized by the event, still,” said Marble. “I think it’s going to take a little while for it to leave me.”

According to the police report, the victim said, “I don’t give you permission.” She reportedly told officers she did not attempt to fight Matchett, fearful of what might happen due to his level of aggression.

Police arrested Matchett, charging him with sexual battery. Matchett has an extensive criminal history in Pinellas County, but nothing of a violent nature.

Vlad Cruz, a customer in the bar, says he spotted Matchett after the attack and tracked him walking down Central Avenue until police arrived.

“I was able to follow him down the street for a bit just to keep eyes to make sure he didn’t disappear anywhere," Cruz said.

Police are giving credit to both staff and that customer for their swift action Sunday.

“I hope more people take the opportunity to take action or speak out,” said Cruz.

This story was originally published by Ryan Smith at WFTS.

A group of five firefighters helped save the day for a Canadian family and their cute little dog named Bean.

A woman called the Kamloops Fire Department in British Columbia last week saying her pooch got its head stuck in a reclining sofa.

Bean's owner wrote about the experience on Facebook.

She said the firefighters arrived within minutes of her call and said they were extremely calm and assuring as they dismantled the couch to set Bean free.

The fire department says Bean is doing just fine after being rescued.

Watch the above video to see Bean's rescue.