• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2025 ABC News
  • Living

Parents hail teens for heroic icy pond rescue of their 2 children

2:23
Teens form human chain to save kids who fell into frozen pond
Nicole Scalice
ByMiles Cohen, Cameron Harrison, and Kandis Mascall
December 21, 2020, 1:49 PM

What started as a fun family day in the snow quickly turned into a nightmare when two young children fell into a freezing pond in need of an urgent, icy rescue.

Rich Heid and Stephanie Irlbeck with their two children Olivia and R.J.
Rich Heid

Rich Heid told ABC News his two children R.J., 4, and Olivia, 8, went flying down a hill on an inflatable sled at Beacon Hill Country Club in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey when they slid over a patch of ice into a frozen pond.

"I started screaming, 'Jump off, jump off, jump off,'" he recalled.

The scene was reminiscent of the scene in the Christmas classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," when George and his friends save his younger brother, Harry, from drowning in freezing cold water.

An icy pond at Beacon Hill Country Club in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.
Nicole Scalice

"You could see fear in their eyes," the children's mother, Stephanie Irlbeck, told ABC News. "Looking at him screaming 'Jump off, jump off.' I was screaming, 'Someone get them!'"

Luckily, a nearby group of teenage boys heard the cries for help and raced over to save the kids.

VIDEO: Teens form human chain to save kids who fell into frozen pond
ABCNews.com

"All of a sudden we heard the dad shouting, 'Get off, get off,'" Kieran Foley said.

Related Articles

MORE: Blast of cold air grips Northeast with fresh snow as Christmas storm approaches

The 14-year-old Boy Scout led the way and dove into the water as his friends formed a chain to help pull the two kids to safety.

"When Kieran was running toward them, the mud was so thick it sucked his boots off," Irlbeck said, adding that he went into the water with his phone still in his pocket.

An inflatable sled used by Olivia and R.J. Heid flew into an icy pond.
Rich Heid

"Tyler helped with Olivia getting her out. she was a bit more heavier," Foley said.

"I took R.J., brought them back to shore to the mother's hands, and then we actually just start comforting them," Ryan Day told ABC News.

"We were shaking -- R.J. was freezing," Olivia Heid told ABC News.

"Life is much more valuable than a phone. So I say its a good choice to just get in there and get them out," Foley explained. "These are all materialistic items. Now, we had life. Life's at stake."

Up Next in Living—

Barbie introduces 1st doll with Type 1 diabetes

July 8, 2025

July's full buck moon is arriving: What it means for your zodiac

July 8, 2025

Shelter dog credited with recognizing man's seizure gets adopted

July 8, 2025

How to help victims of deadly Texas floods

July 7, 2025

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2025 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2025 ABC News