POCAHONTAS — He’s been dubbed a “hometown hero” but Adam Throesch, a senior at Pocahontas High School, simply refers to the rescue of 6-year-old Drew Capps during the Aug. 31 canoe trip down the Eleven Point River a “reaction.”
The incident occurred approximately one hour into the four-hour float, when the group of 16 people elected to go ashore for lunch. The first order of business for Drew was to rid himself of the restricting life jacket — something he had been requesting to do for the past hour, according to his mother, Angie.
While lunch was being prepared, Throesch said he and several other teens were “messing around” in shallow water approximately three feet from the bank. Like any young boy wanting to run with the big boys, Drew waded out to join the group.
“And then the current just took him,” said Throesch, a member of St. Paul Church in Pocahontas. “So I went in after him. It was just a reaction. I think he was trying to swim, but I’m not sure he was kicking. He was crying and starting to panic.”
And so was his mother as she watched from the bank. “I couldn’t move — couldn’t make a sound,” Angie Capps said. “It all happened so fast. He was just right there and the next thing we knew Gary (Meier, a brother-in-law) was saying, ’there goes Drew down the river.’ It was such a scary thing.”
Unlike his mother, Drew quickly rebounded from the ordeal, choosing instead to think of it as an adventure.
“It was like a water slide,” Drew said.
“He was fine once it was over,” Throesch said. “A little later he came over, hugged me and thanked me.”
The following Tuesday evening, Drew delivered a cookie cake with the inscription “Adam, You’re My Hero” to say thanks for the heroic rescue.
“Everyone keeps saying I’m a hero, but it was just a reaction,” Throesch said.
Throesch’s mother, Kelly, who wasn’t along on the family outing, said she was very proud of her son for his quick reaction and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“He’s been really sick for most of the summer with meningitis,” Kelly Throesch said. “He missed a lot of football practice because of it and has had to start at the bottom in football. I guess the adrenaline kicked in and he dove in after Drew. I’m really proud of him.”
The incident has not only strengthened the family ties, but also their faith.
“I know it was the Holy Spirit that saved him,” Angie Capps said. “We had just prayed that morning before putting in the canoes.”
When asked what he had learned, Drew was quick to respond.
“To never take my life jacket off unless my parents say I can,” Drew said.
No doubt, a line he has spoken quite frequently since the Aug. 31 incident.
