WSVN — An off-duty Aventura Police officer put his life on the line when he hit the surf to save a child. Rosh Lowe has his story in tonight’s edition of The Lowedown.
It was late March near the Haulover Inlet. Sgt. Bobby Myers of the Aventura Police Department had his GoPro camera mounted to his surfboard as he was enjoying a day off on the water.
Aventura Police Sgt. Bobby Myers: “I hear a grandmother start screaming, yelling and crying. I see three or four children, and another one caught, and he’s waving his hands, ‘Help, help, help!'”
Myers at this point was on the beach and decided to jump in the water.
Sgt. Bobby Myers: “I knew it was risky. You just react. A kid looks up at you and says, ‘Please, help me,’ you jump right in.”
Myers’ GoPro camera continues to roll, and you can see fishermen on the pier waving for help.
Fisherman: “Try to relax. Help is on the way.”
Sgt. Bobby Myers: “I’ve seen it happen a lot of times out here. I was a marine patrol officer. I’ve seen a lot of drownings down here, and I see the reactions later on by the family. It goes through your head when you’re dealing with something like that.”
A child approximately 10 years old is caught in the rip currents, and this officer was determined that this child was going to make it out alive.
Sgt. Myers had his own life on the line. That’s because, after he rescues the child out in the rip current, they get separated. The child gets picked up by a boat, but Sgt. Myers has his wetsuit filling with water. He feels like he’s going under. He has to struggle to make it over to the rocks. When he gets back to dry land, he passes out.
Sgt. Bobby Myers: “I got that tunnel vision, passed out, and somebody nearby [said], ‘Hey, are you OK?’ They poured water on me and called rescue.”
When we slow down the video, you can see the officer coming out of the water. The camera continues to roll.
Myers was rushed to the hospital. In the commotion of the moment, he never got the child’s name. He only heard from a fellow officer that the boy survived.
Sgt. Bobby Myers: “I saw his grandmother and she thanked me, and they took her away, but my own issue was, I was rushed to the hospital myself.”
Months later, Sgt. Myers is sharing his story hoping to reconnect with this child and his family. Two lives brought together by fate.
Sgt. Bobby Myers: “I hope he goes on to cure cancer, and I hope he is doing well. It’s a calling. I don’t set out to be a hero. I don’t set out to be somebody who looks for these types of things. It happened.”
Myers is now back at work, and he doesn’t like the hero tag. He did what he was trained to do: save a life.
Sgt. Bobby Myers: “You go into this protection mode. You act on emotion, and your only focus is to save that life.”
At the Haulover Inlet, Rosh Lowe 7News.
The officer says he would love to reconnect with the boy. If you’re a family member send an email to lowedown@wsvn.com.
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