MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (NewsNation Now) — A North Carolina man jumped into action to save the life of a drowning toddler Saturday at Myrtle Beach. The boy’s family credits fate and divine timing for the rescue.
Faye Aboko-Cole told NewsNation affiliate WBTW she was packing up beach supplies when her 3-year-old son, King, was swept away.
“A tide came up and it was taller than King and it basically washed him into the water. The whole time I was looking for him. I didn’t know where he was,” said Cole.
The current dragged King nearly half a mile from the area of 10th Avenue South to the 15th Avenue South.
Chad Evans was on the beach with his family when something caught his eye.
“Off in my peripherals I just seen a pair of shorts floating,” said Evans.
He found King near the shore, lifeless. He swooped him up and took off running with King’s body.
An off-duty police officer saw what was happening and stopped Evans. She began life-saving efforts until emergency crews arrived.
That’s when his mother noticed the ambulance.
“My heart dropped. I said ‘please don’t let it be my baby.’ I ran straight to the people and it was him laying there in the sand and I died,” said Cole.
King was rushed to the hospital after leaving the beach unconscious. Cole, her family, and Evans prayed in the hospital lobby as they waited for scans.
“We were repeating scriptures and praying. Speaking life into the situation,” said Cole.
King used a breathing tube during his hospital stay but was able to start breathing on his own. Doctors said his scans show no sign of brain damage, but some moisture remains in his lungs.
King was released from the hospital Tuesday and is expected to make a full recovery.
Cole and Evans say God played a big role and credit the rescue to divine intervention.
“Divine timing is real. It is very real,” said Evans.
“I know every year there are people that lose families to the ocean. Families that are lost and never given back, but God said it was not my baby’s time and he gave him back,” said Cole.
NewsNation affiliate WBTW contributed to this report.