NEWS

Boy, dog rescued from hole in Lincoln Co.

Therese Apel
The Clarion-Ledger

LINCOLN COUNTY — A 4-year-old boy and his dog were rescued from a 23-foot hole in a rural yard several miles outside Brookhaven Monday night.

Rescuers work in the dark to help Gabe Allbritton, 4, out of a 23-foot hole in west Lincoln County Monday night.

The child, identified by responders as Gabe Allbritton, was in the yard with his grandmother when he went missing, said Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency Director Clifford Galey.

The boy’s dog had been missing for two to three days, family members said, and no one knew where it had gone. They believe Gabe had heard his dog and turned to look for it and fell into the hole, which they said they did not know was there.

Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing said the call came into the office around 5 p.m. Monday.

Child, dog rescued from well in Lincoln County

The hole, initially identified as a well, was too narrow for immediate access, so trench rescue groups were called in from McComb, Hattiesburg and the Mississippi State Fire Academy. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Brookhaven Fire Department, and every volunteer department in Lincoln County were on scene.

Rushing said the boy was not actually stuck in the hole, but he did not know how to attach the rope emergency personnel were attempting to use for a rescue.

Capt. Mark Porter of the Brookhaven Fire Department and Capt. Chris Reid of Hog Chain Volunteer Fire Department were manning the rope when they were able to direct Gabe on how to attach it. When they finally pulled him free from the hole just after 8 p.m., a cheer erupted among the dozens of responders and close to 100 onlookers.

The dog was freed shortly thereafter and  returned safely to his family.

Both Reid and Porter said as they worked to free the child, they were thinking of their own children.

“When we got him to the top of the hole and were able to get our hands on him, we were ecstatic,” said Reid. “Relief came over us, and the Lord blessed us and blessed him. Having kids, that was on my mind the whole time, ‘What if it was my kids?’ That’s the effort we put into it.”

“Once he started up the hole, the feeling that you had of him on the way up and the closer he got, within a foot of me, close enough for me to reach him and I still couldn’t reach him, I can’t explain it,” Porter said. “But when I finally got my hand on him, I hadn’t felt that way in a while.”

Rushing said the boy, who was unharmed, was taken to Kings Daughters Medical Center for a routine check up. He praised the teamwork of the departments that turned up to help, as well as the people who brought heavy equipment in case digging needed to be done.

“Those guys got a rapport with him and started talking to him so they did most of the work and we were just helping out any way we could. The firemen did all the work,” he said. “Just seeing him so close but so far was the hardest part.”

The incident occurred in Zetus Volunteer Fire Department’s district and they were first on the scene. Chief Dale Anding said it was a stressful situation for everyone involved.

“It’s relieving to get him out. Words can’t express thanks to everyone who was here tonight to help us,” he said.

As a result, Gabe and his firefighter heroes will be spending more time together, rescuers said.

“Somebody’s got to come up with pizza, fire truck rides, and all kinds of stuff, because we promised that little boy a lot,” Porter said.

Therese Apel is on the scene providing updates via Twitter, @TRex21.