Girls save boy from near drowning at Bear Butte Lake

Gracey Schave, Annika Goetz, and Kaylee Miranda-Pedersen, all 17 years old, were spending their summer break before senior year at Spearfish (South Dakota) High School, learning how to paddleboard.

Equipped with their life vests, the girls eagerly headed to the water to explore Bear Butte Lake.

Within 30 minutes, they spotted a boy in the water around their age. Schave mentioned they couldn’t make out his words, but he was shouting something to his family on the shore.

Miranda-Pedersen mentioned that they initially thought he was joking with his family.

However, when the shouting ceased, and an eerie silence engulfed the water, the girls felt their skin crawl.

“We noticed police cars arriving at his family’s campsite, and that’s when we knew something was seriously wrong,” Schave recalled.

The Meade County Sheriff’s Office, Sturgis Police Department, and Sturgis Ambulance and Fire all rushed to the area following a 911 call about a potential drowning at the lake.

The three girls hurried to the spot where the boy was last seen before submerging. Schave took the lead, discovering the boy struggling against the currents. She promptly offered her life vest and helped the boy onto her board.

“He went from making noise to complete silence in seconds… It was really scary, and we all acted on instinct. We just wanted to help him reach the police as soon as possible,” Miranda-Pedersen said.

Goetz and Miranda-Pedersen caught up and connected their boards to Schave’s to provide the boy with more surface area to climb onto. Goetz mentioned the boy was conscious but winded and barely able to speak.

Still new to paddleboarding, Schave relied on her swimming team experience to dive into the water and pull the boy to safety.

Goetz and Miranda-Pedersen paddled behind, engaging with the boy to prevent him from losing consciousness.

“He told us the current took him, and he couldn’t fight it any longer. He couldn’t feel his arms and legs,” Goetz revealed.

Within a few minutes, the girls managed to bring the boy to shore, where he was immediately attended to by emergency personnel to assess his injuries.

According to Stop Drowning Now, drowning happens swiftly and silently, with an average time of 20 to 60 seconds for a drowning to occur. In the United States, over 3,500 people drown on average each year, resulting in 10 drownings per day.

Drowning is among the top five causes of unintentional injury-related death for infants to 5-year-olds. Children aged 5 to 17 are more likely to drown in ponds or lakes.

“It’s estimated that for every fatal drowning victim, five to 10 others receive hospital care for nonfatal drowning injuries,” Stop Drowning Now wrote in the study.

The three girls never expected their actions that day to garner much attention. None of them considered themselves heroes, stating it was something anyone would have done in that situation.

“Being able to assist those in need is something everyone should be capable of,” Miranda-Pedersen expressed.