JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) — A 2-year-old girl was saved from drowning after falling into a retention pond behind her home, thanks to the quick actions of neighbors and local law enforcement.
The rescue unfolded after Madison’s mother, momentarily distracted in the restroom, realized her daughter had slipped outside. Neighbors helped her look for the girl and found her floating in the pond.
Video captured by a neighbor showed the urgency of the situation as they pulled her to safety and commenced lifesaving CPR.
“We immediately went to the backyard, and I saw something in the water,” said James Sizemore, a neighbor who is a lifelong lifeguard and merchant mariner. “I know kids are attracted to the water and the mom immediately jumped in. She can’t swim apparently. Then I jumped in, I pulled them both out.”
James and his wife, Maria, who works at a local hospital, are both CPR-certified. Their efforts helped tremendously before rescue crews arrived.
“There was a lot going on,” said Maria. “I just tried to be supportive, you know, as much as I can.I tried to tell my husband how to move the head to do the mouth-to-mouth.
Two Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers, who were nearby and heard the dispatch, rushed to the scene. Officer Bruns took over chest compressions while Officer Frison coordinated with the team and incoming rescue crews. Officer Bruns said it was his first time using his CPR training.
“All the training and details they taught us in training and go from there,” he said.
The moments were captured on police bodycam footage, showing the collaborative efforts to save Madison.
“Come on, Madison, please! Come on,” said Madison’s mother on the video.
Rescue teams arrived just in time to transport Madison o a nearby children’s hospital where she began breathing on her own and crying, a sign of recovery.
Madison is now doing fine, and her mother expressed gratitude towards the first responders, medical team and neighbors whose quick thinking saved her daughter’s life.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.