7-year-old Florida Boy Swims for an Hour to get Help for Endangered Family

Source: Shannon Dunaway / EyeEm / Getty

Florida boy swims for an hour to get help for endangered family.

A 7-year-old Florida boy is being hailed a hero after he swam for an hour to get help for his family following a boating accident.

The incident happened Friday night when the boy, Chase Poust, was fishing with his dad and 4-year-old sister, authorities say. At one point, Poust’s dad decided to take a swim with his sister — and discovered the current was too strong, the boy recalls. “The current was so strong that my sister — she usually hangs out at the back of the boat — she let go, so I let go of the boat and grabbed her and then I was stuck,” Poust says.

As Poust’s dad and sister began drifting away, the youth decided to take matters into his own hands and began swimming for shore, he says. It took an hour, but he finally made it — and sent rescuers to save his dad and sister. “We’re here,” says Poust’s dad, Steven. “By the grace of God, we’re here.”

Would you have been able to swim for an hour when you were 7? How about today?