The teen boys jumped into action to save three people, including a young child.
CULPEPER, Va. — Three teens from Virginia are being called heroes for a dramatic lake rescue. Authorities say the high school students’ quick actions saved the lives of three people, including a young child who didn’t know how to swim.
The three Eastern View High School students — Andrew Tuggle, 15, Jackson Castro, 17, and Gavin Cain, 17 — were at the nearby Culpeper Country Club for golf team tryouts on Monday afternoon when they spotted the capsized kayaks. Team members called 911 and alerted coaches.
Police and emergency services learned that a family with a small child capsized in Culpeper Lake around 3:30 p.m.
“The location made the rescue especially difficult: a steep, overgrown hillside with a boulder-strewn shoreline between December Ct and the water intake of the Lake Culpeper Dam,” the police department said.
Before first responders arrived, Tuggle, Castro and Cain jumped in the water and brought all three family members to safety, and then went back for the kayaks.
When officers got to the lake, they used drones to confirm no one else was in the water. All three kayakers were wearing life jackets and were unhurt, police said.
Chief Chris Settle praised the boys for their courageous efforts.
“These three young men saw someone in danger and acted immediately, without hesitation, at potentially great personal risk to themselves. That kind of courage and quick thinking is what saved three lives on Monday. I hope their actions inspire all of us, and I’m incredibly proud to see this kind of leadership from young people in our community. We’re grateful everyone was safe and unharmed,” Settle said.
“The instinct and courage these young men showed to jump into action and save lives is heroic. I could not be prouder of them,” Eastern View High School Golf Coach Patrick Thornhill said.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources reminds all residents to paddle safely. For more guidance, click here.