July 24, 2007
My cousin, the hero

Just received this link from my cousin Lori about her son (my first cousin once removed) Eric Wuensch. It's a video clip from the local Fox news in Austin, about how Eric and two of his buddies pulled a drowning teenager out of the Guadalupe River. You have to sit through a 15-second commercial to see the story, and they managed to misspell his name, but that's okay. Needless to say, I'm very proud of him.

Here's the story in the local paper.


Three local boys caught more than they were expecting during an afternoon of fishing last Saturday.

Eric Wuensch, Will Martin and Daniel Martinez, all aged 15, were fishing from the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Huaco Springs at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday when they heard a man yell "Save him!" from across the river, said Wuensch, a dishwasher at the nearby Slumber Falls Camp.

Emergency services personnel from Canyon Lake repsonded to the scene but didn't have to give treatment.

Wuensch said Monday that he and his two fishing buddies then turned around and saw a boy's arm sticking out of the water. The teens immediately threw their fishing gear on the ground and jumped into the Guadalupe River to save a teenage boy whom Martinez described as 14 to 16 years old. The teen has not been identified.

Martinez said he and his friends swam about 50 yards to the boy. Wuensch was the first to reach the boy, and after he pulled the boy out of the water Martinez carried the boy's legs, Martin carried his head and Wuensch carried his mid-section, Martinez said.

"It was one of the most intense things I've ever been a part of," Wuensch said. "I was feeling so many emotions, I couldn't even think straight."

Wuensch said the boy was going down the rapids on a tube he purchased from the camp.

"Since the river was so high he flipped, but he didn't have the strength to keep himself above the water," he said. According to Wuensch, the boy and his family were camping at Huaco Springs.

Once the boy was brought to shore, an onlooker came forward to perform CPR on the boy, Wuensch said. The boy was blue in color and looked unconscious, Martinez said.

Lt. Jeff Schultz said Canyon Lake EMS responded to the call, but when they arrived the rescued boy refused care.

"He wouldn't even let us check him out," Schultz said. "He was just shaken up."

After saving the boy, Martinez said he and Martin didn't stop shaking until about midnight.

"I couldn't sleep that night," Martinez said. "I didn't know if he was all right or not."

Martinez said he was in shock after the incident.

"I couldn't believe it. I felt like I was in a movie," he said.

When contacted Monday, no one at Rockin' R, which owns the camp, was able to comment on the incident.


Well done, fellas!

(And since I'm sure you're wondering, his surname is pronounced "winch".)

Posted by Charles Kuffner on July 24, 2007 to The great state of Texas
Comments

Way to go Eric!!!

Posted by: Your sister on July 25, 2007 11:19 AM