Sometimes everyday heroes come in small packages, but have an impact that’s larger than life. Find out how these brave children saved other’s lives, thwarted kidnappings, survived in the wilderness, fought off predators, and tackled higher education.
Boy Saves Sister From Abduction With Sniper-Like Slingshot Precision
A Michigan boy prevented an abductor from kidnapping his sister with a surprising weapon. A 14-year-old boy was able to fend of an attacker with a slingshot, when he tried to abduct his 8-year-old sister on Wednesday.
The girl was playing outside in her family’s backyard in rural Alpena, Michigan, when a 17-year-old came out of the woods and grabbed her.
The unnamed suspect covered her mouth and tried to drag her out of the yard, when his attempt was thwarted by her older brother.
Big Brother Fends Off The Kidnapper
The brave tween heard the commotion and used a slingshot to get the teenager to let his little sister go. He only fired two shots before the girl was able to break free and run away.
“He really is the one that that I believe saved his sisters either life, or something seriously bad happening to her,” a Michigan State Police spokesperson told NBC News.
“For a 14-year-old to see that and to pop into action that quickly, he should be commended for it.”
The alleged attacker escaped, but was later arrested by Michigan State Police in the gas station, based on a description by another family member.
When he was arrested, police said the suspect had visible wounds to the head and chest from the two projectiles the boy flung with Dennis the Menace-like precision.
The Suspect Is Identified By Slingshot Wounds
Police said that not only did the young teenager become an everyday hero by protecting his sister, he helped them verify that they had the right person in custody.
“What he did also helped us to identify who the suspect was because obviously he had injuries from getting hit with a slingshot, and obviously those [wounds] were able to help us out evidentiary-wise.”
The 17-year-old was charged as an adult on three felony counts that included attempted kidnapping, attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and assault and battery.
“You wouldn’t think in this world that if you were playing in your own backyard … that you would be concerned about something like this,” the Police spokesman said.
“But it just goes to show that there is evil out there and it can find anybody anywhere.”
8-Year-Old Boy Survives On Snow After Going Missing In State Park
An 8-year-old boy survived by eating snow while he was missing in the Michigan wilderness for 48-hours. Nante Niemi was camping with his family over the weekend at Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, when he ventured into the woods to gather wood for their campfire.
The Wisconsin second grader’s parents reported that he was missing to the Michigan State Police (MSP) on Saturday night, when he didn’t return with kindling after last being seen during the early afternoon.
To add to his parent’s nightmare, the area they set up camp in was both “remote and hilly,” without cell phone service, and some roads were “impassible because of snow depth.”
Community Comes Together To Find Nante
Over 150 search and rescuers set out to scour a 40 square mile area on foot with K9’s, on water, and by air, but the Nante was not found on Saturday or Sunday.
Concerningly, the child had only been dressed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and temperatures both nights dropped into the 40s.
Rescuers caught a break when search member Matthew Tingstad found tracks left by the boy on Sunday night, but were unable to locate him.
“I called up a couple of friends that I know that are pretty capable of getting around in the woods,” he told WLUC. “We devised a plan first thing this morning and we executed the plan, and we found the subject.”
Tingstad and Eli Talsma were part of the group that eventually found Nante 49-hours after he went missing. Talsma, who is a friend of the family, was the person who first spotted Nante.
“I get over this little, tiny hill, and all I see is this little, tiny, white sweatshirt, and he goes, ‘Eli?’ And I just ran up over to him and I gave him the biggest hug,” he detailed. “I was so relieved once I saw him.”
How Nante Helped Save Himself
The boy told him that he had been following the blue check marks on trees, and had seen helicopters searching, but didn’t get their attention.
The MSP said that Nante walked a trail until it dead ended, then decided it would be best to stop there and wait until help came. He was able to keep warm at night by covering a log with branches and leaves, then sleeping under it.
The clever boy didn’t have any food or water on him, but ate clean snow to stay hydrated. When Tinstad and Talsma found him, the offered to carry Nante on his back, but he wanted to walk. Eventually he was too fatigued and Talsma carried him back to safety, where he was reunited with his family.
How A 13-Year-Old Girl Fought Off Jaws
A tween girl detailed how she fought off a bull shark and won after being repeatedly bitten. 13-year-old Ella Reed was hanging out in the water with friend at a Florida beach close to her home on North Hutchinson Island when she was randomly attacked by a shark on Thursday.
The first bite came as an unexpected chomp to her side. “The shark itself was so powerful. That was what I felt the most because it was hitting my stomach really hard,” she told Local 10.
Ella protected herself by punching the shark, which only briefly deterred the creature before it swam back for more. “It wouldn’t leave me alone, so I had to use my arm and use my hand too, so it got my arm and my finger,” she detailed.
The shark bit her in the abdomen, arm, finger, and at the top of her knee, before she was able to get away.
A Mother’s Nightmare
The friend she was with swiftly transported Ella back home in a golf cart. When she arrived, her mother, Devin Reed, told WPTV that she “seriously thought it was a prank,” until she saw all of the gore.
“It was insane because she was totally covered in blood pretty much from head to toe,” Devin remarked.
But she was astounded by her daughter’s composure during the incident. “There was blood everywhere and she was more of a trooper than anyone else.”
“We were all just shocked that it even happened,” Devin explained. “She was so calm even when we got in the hospital. She was telling all the nurses, ‘You can take pictures.’ She was like a pro.”
Trauma Response
Ella said that the trauma of the incident dulled her body’s response to the shark bites. “I was kinda in shock about everything that happened, so I wasn’t really in pain because the adrenaline was through the roof.”
She thinks that the predator who attacked her was a 5-6 foot bull shark, but said the incident wouldn’t keep her out of the ocean she has grown up next to.
Ella’s mother said that attack “doesn’t feel real” to her yet. “Never thought in a million years, not my kids,” she commented. “They swim, go surfing. They know how to stay away from bait balls and stuff like that. The whole thing is surreal. It sounds like a movie.”
12-Year-Old Graduates From College With Five Degrees
A remarkable child genius collected not just one, but five college degrees last weekend, and a 72-year-old man became the oldest of his class to graduate.
12-year-old Clovis Hung became a Fullerton College record holder for the youngest graduate to earn multiple degrees.
He enrolled just three years ago, at the extremely impressive age of nine, and pursued higher knowledge in the fields of History, Social Sciences, Social Behavior and Self-Development, Arts and Human Expression, and Science and Mathematics.
Brilliant Boy
“Clovis is super inquisitive, mature, diligent, self-disciplined, and highly motivated. He is also very curious and traditional public schools could not satisfy his curiosity, therefore, the best option was college,” his mother said in an interview.
Hung is “proud” that he graduated and feels that all of his “hard work has finally paid off.”
The young genius plans to work in a civil capacity when he’s is old enough to get a job without breaking child labor laws. Until then, he has his sights set on the skies.
“I also just joined the Civic Air Patrol and hope to get my pilot license at age 16,” Hung told CBS News.
7-Year-Old Boy Flings Himself Off A Cliff To Save Baby Brother’s Life
A 3-year-old Oklahoma child was saved from a 100-foot cliff fall in part due to his 7-year-old brother’s bravery. On February 25, the two boys were hiking a trail in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur with their grandmother, sister, and dog.
As they were descending from the summit of Bromide Hill, their dog traversed close to the edge of the rock face. When three-year-old Riley Duke tried to grab the family pet, he went over the cliff and plunged down into an icy stream below.
Dakota Becomes An Everyday Hero
According to The Oklahoman, his big brother Dakota didn’t hesitate to take off after him, and slid down what was essentially a 100 foot vertical fall without fear for his own life. Dakota was miraculously able to scramble down the cliff-side to aid his injured little brother, and had the wherewithal to hold the boy’s head out of the water as they waited for help in the chilly water.
“[Dakota] just didn’t have quite enough strength to get him all the way up, but he got his head out from underneath the water,” the boys’ mother, Amy Branom detailed.Branom said that the boys’ grandmother called emergency services as she made her way down the mountain.
She also noted that her mother was unaware of how treacherous the trail actually was, as there were no signs or guardrails.
First Responders Come To Their Rescue
Once they were dispatched at 5:34 p.m., park rangers reached the boys miraculously quickly. They were able get both brothers out of the creek with the help of the Sulphur Fire Department and Murray County EMS.
Dakota and Riley were treated on scene, and swiftly rushed off to two separate local hospitals within a span of sixteen minutes.
They were later transferred to the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, which has a Level 1 pediatric trauma center, to treat their severe injuries from the fall.
Riley suffered a several broken ribs, a fractured wrist, facial lacerations, a broken forehead and brain damage. He is currently stable in the ICU, but remains on a ventilator, feeding tube, and catheter.
The Boys Survive The Fall
Thankfully, he is conscious and able to reply to yes and no questions by nodding or shaking his head, but is unable to open his eyes due to the extreme swelling.
Dakota was treated for lacerations on his forehead, back of the head and a deeply skinned knee, but was released from the hospital two days later.
According to his mother, is unsure if his actions were brave, or rash. Luckily, she has reassured him that he is indeed an everyday hero.
“I’ve tried to tell him over and over again, that you 100% have done the correct thing,” Branom told The Oklahoman. “You saved your baby brother,” she assured her son. “We’ll never be able to really thank him enough for what he did, honestly.”
