WGNO

Pair of Kansas grade school boys jump fence to rescue infants from pool

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – It was a normal day for 11-year-old Braden and 10-year-old Jayden Harper as they helped their aunt, Brittany, clean her vehicle at a car wash in Junction City, Kansas.

Normal, until they heard the first screams.


“At first we thought it was just kids playing on the trampoline or in a pool cause it was a pretty hot day. Then the screaming got louder and louder and more intense,” Jayden Harper said.

After hearing the screams come from a home neighboring the car wash, they decided to peer over the fence to get a better look. They discovered that the noise was coming from two young children, twin boys between the ages of 6 months and 18 months, barely bobbing above the water’s surface of a backyard pool.

“I ran up and tried to hop the fence. Braden’s already over, so I had somebody help me hop the fence,” Jayden said.

Once the boys were over the fence, they ran to rescue the children from the pool, then kept them occupied until police arrived at the scene. Thankfully, both the young children were fine thanks to the brave young boys and their actions.

“They got recognized at school for being heroes,” said Brittany Harper, the boys’ aunt. “The police department is supposed to be recognizing them also.”

It is not known how the babies ended up in the pool unsupervised, and why they were not pulled out sooner. The boys and their aunt said the babies were bobbing up and down near the edge in their footie pajamas.

“I felt sad that the babies had to go through that,” said Braden Harper. “But, relief that we got them out.”