Fireman, teen describe how strangers raced to save ‘lifeless’ boy found in Bluffton pool

River Ridge Academy seventh-grader Emily Alonso was drifting on Mill Creek at Cypress Ridge neighborhood’s lazy river Sunday when she noticed a boy about the age of 4 lying face down at the bottom of the pool.

“I thought he was playing around, but he didn’t come back up,” Emily said Tuesday

Emily and her mom, River Ridge Academy teacher Andrea Alonso, quickly reacted by pulling the child to the surface.

Andrea attempted to yell for help as the two pulled the child to the pool deck. Yet, her first shouts were muffled by the sounds of a pool crowded for the Memorial Day weekend.

Randy McGarvey, an off-duty Bluffton Township District fireman was ending his day at the pool with his family when he heard a woman yell for someone to call 911.

“You always think worst-case scenario,” McGarvey said Tuesday. “I knew it was probably a drowning of some sort.”

Help in the crowd

McGarvey rushed to a crowd of people standing over the child.

“You never want to work on a child,” McGarvey said. “Anytime a child is involved, it is a bad day. They are innocent.”

Some had already started CPR. Yet, he could tell the individuals didn’t have as much training as he did. He asked to take over.

“My thoughts were, ‘He is lifeless.’ ” McGarvey said. “I knew something had to be done. Once I started what I need to do, it was a blur.”

At some point, an off-duty emergency room nurse started monitoring for a pulse, McGarvey said.

A woman helped with breathing, McGarvey said. Other individuals worked to calm the family.

It felt like 10 seconds, but McGarvey said his wife told him the compressions continued for about five minutes.

And then there was a pulse, McGarvey said.

“When I heard the gentleman got the pulse, it was amazing,” McGarvey said. “It was the start of moving air.”

He stopped the compressions and started talking to the child, trying to get the child to respond.

The child spit up some, then he threw up more water and there was crying.

“It is a scary thing to see a child who is lifeless, but to see a child come back is the best thing to see in your life,” McGarvey said.

The child was resuscitated before an ambulance was able to arrive. He was transported to a hospital in Savannah as a precaution.

McGarvey said Tuesday that, last he heard, the child was doing well.

The child survived due to the quick thinking of a lot of people all at once, McGarvey said.

“Another 30 seconds or a minute could have made a difference,” McGarvey said. “The quicker we can start CPR the better.”

Pool safety

Discussions about pool safety have popped up on social media since the incident.

“You can do everything right, and this can still happen as a parent,” McGarvey said.

Drownings can happen quickly, Bluffton Township Fire District spokesman Lee Levesque said Monday.

“You drop something and turn around to clean it up, and the child is gone,” Levesque said.

There are some steps parents can take to reduce risks. This includes children wearing flotation devices.

When in large groups, adults should designate someone to watch children and take turns, he said.

McGarvey said others in the community can also help, just like what happened at the Cypress Ridge pool.

“It is what we have to do as a community,” McGarvey said. “When we are sitting at a pool or a beach, take a look around and make sure everyone is okay. “

This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 4:46 PM.