Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sgt. Stephen Rhodes was patrolling the beach at Grand Isle Saturday when he noticed a boat taking on water before capsizing. After getting help from some nearby beachgoers, Rhodes sprang into action said spokesperson Adam Einck…
“When he got to the capsized vessel, there were eight people on top of the vessel and he was able to get those eight people into his vessel,” said Einck. “And then they told him that there was still a little girl that was in the water.”
Rhodes flagged down another boat to hold his in place while he dove into the water to locate the girl.
“He found her and he got her back into his boat, but she was unresponsive,” Einck said. “He immediately started conducting CPR, and the second round of CPR she started breathing again.”
Once everyone was on board, Sgt. Rhodes brought the people to the Bridgeside Marina. EMS crews were standing by, and they were able to stabilize the girl before airlifting her to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. She is expected to make a full recovery. Einck says Rhodes did everything right, but couldn’t have been the hero without assistance from people nearby.
“His training kicked in,” Einck said. “He did everything that he was supposed to do. Time was of the essence and he had a lot of help from some good Samaritans as well.”
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