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‘He’ll always be our hero’ — Parents reunite with teen who saved son from drowning

Posted at 10:23 PM, Aug 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-03 22:23:08-04

GRANT, Mich. -- Thanks to the quick thinking of a local teenager, a boy is alive and well after being pulled out of the Muskegon River.

The dramatic rescue happened July 27 at the Maple Island boat launch.  Fourteen-year-old Hunter Hoofman of Muskegon had just finished tubing and kayaking with his family and was standing about 50 feet from shore when he said he heard the young boy's parent's yelling.

He immediately jumped in the water to save 3-year-old Jackson, who had been playing in shallow water with his father when the river's current took him underneath a nearby dock. The boy's head was lodged in a small air pocket underneath the dock.

Angela and Andrew Tyler posted about the rescue on Facebook, thanking the teen for pulling their son from the river.   On Thursday they met up with Hunter for the first time since the incident.

Angela says the words "thank you" don't even come close to showing him their appreciation.

"He'll always be our hero," she said.