Woman In Rough Water At Hampton Beach Saved By 12-Year-Old Boys
HAMPTON, New Hampshire (CBS) -- Maggie Hand is thankful two boys heard her cries for help last Tuesday morning as she got stuck in rough waters at Hampton Beach. "If they weren't there I may not have made it," she said.
Hand was in waist-deep water with her grandson when a wave knocked her down and she could not regain her footing.
"I got knocked down and it kept pulling me as quick as I tried to reach for something, someone, it pulled me further away."
Hand has no use of her right foot without her brace, something she does not wear in the water. So when she lost her footing and couldn't hold onto her young grandson she panicked.
That's when two young boys jumped in to help. Jacob Wright and Zack Bertocchi, both 12, were the only ones who rushed over to see what was wrong.
"We just saw that she needed help, so we just ran over," said Zack.
Jacob added, "The waves were big so it was kind of obvious that if we didn't do anything she might not have made it so it was like okay yeah let's do this."
Hand thought she was not going to make as she thought about the deadly rip currents just days before in Seabrook. "Those two boys, they're my heroes, they'll be forever in my heart forever."
Now Hand hopes to reunite with the boys to thank them once for saving her life.
The boys hope other kids their age will have the courage to step up if they come across someone in need.
"It's just kind of the human thing people are suppose to do. You see someone who needs help you help them," said Jacob."