A fun day out sledding takes a turn for the worse.

For Olivia Heid, 8, and her little brother, RJ, 4, a late December snowfall in their hometown of Middletown, NJ meant endless hours of fun outside. Mom, Stephanie Irlbeck, and dad, Rich Heid, surprised the kids with their very first sledding trip, however, none of them could have predicted how their day of adventure would become life-threatening.

Every parent’s nightmare.

With the snowy hills calling, the family set out for Beacon Hill Country Club. After noticing a large crowd on the main hill, they opted for a smaller hill nearby. The pond was visible to the right but the family thought it was too far away to be of any concern. Their initial trip down the hill was a breeze but the second big push from dad sent their sled over a patch of ice and directly into the freezing pond.

The kids were freezing cold and scared.

“We were shaking…RJ was like, freezing.” – Olivia Heid, 8, said to Good Morning America about their ordeal. Stephanie and her husband also spoke about how scared they were of their kid’s safety. “You could see like the fear in their eyes because they were looking at me looking at him and screaming. (Rich Heid) was screaming, ‘jump off, jump off’ and I was screaming, somebody get them.”- Good Morning America

Teen angels jump into action.

Thankfully for this family, five, very brave, teen boys happened to be out sledding nearby. High school freshmen Kiernan Foley, 14, Joseph Dietrich, 14, Drew Scalice, 14, Ryan Day, 15, and Tyler Armagan, 14 were in the right place at the right time. They heard Rich screaming to his kids to get off the inflatable sled and without a second thought, the group raced to help the kids.

They formed a human chain to save the kids.

Two of the boys, Kiernan and Drew, were members of Middletown Boy Scouts Troop 47. True to their training, they acted quickly to form a human chain in an attempt to reach the kids. Kiernan Foley, who led his friends to the pond where the children were in danger, jumped in immediately. “I didn’t see anyone else be able to do anything, so I just jumped in…I was like, whatever. It wasn’t deep so I could walk right over to them. I picked them up and my friends formed a chain and we got the boy first, and handed him to my friends. Then I got the girl.” – Kiernan Foley mypositiveoutlooks.com

Phones and shoes were the least of their worries.

Stephanie spoke to Good Morning America about Kiernan jumping in the water to save the kids. “His phone was in his pocket…his jacket was still on. When Keirnan was running over towards them the mud was so thick that it actually sucked his boots off.” – Stephanie told Good Morning America

“Life is much more valuable than a phone so I say it’s a good choice to just get in there and get them out.” – Kiernan Foley told Good Morning America

The kids were safely brought to land but were understandably scared. Stephanie recalled how Kiernan and the other boys distracted them by talking about their wish list of toys from Santa and having hot chocolate when they were finally home.

They refused any kind of payment.

Stephanie and Rich were overwhelmed with gratitude for the brave rescue. They offered the boys money and a ride home but they all refused. “They were insanely humble. They didn’t want anything, they just wanted to make sure my kids were OK. They kept saying to my kids, ‘You’re safe now. You’re going to get a hot chocolate and a warm bath at home.’” Stephanie Irlbeck recalled.

A public ‘thank you’ they deserved.

Stephanie made sure to post about the rescue on the Middletown community Facebook page in the hopes of finding the boy’s parents. She wanted to thank them in person for their son’s extraordinary efforts. True to his humble nature, Kiernan made sure to let everyone know the rescue was a group effort.

“Everybody played a part in rescuing these children…It was a big team effort and I’m grateful they got out of the water in time and nothing bad happened or anything, because it could have been much worse.” – Kiernan Foley told NJ.com

Now watch the incredible video of this dramatic rescue.

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Source: mypositiveoutlooks.com, Good Morning America, nj.com