Coast Guard, others rescue 4 children from water in Norfolk

News Release

May 20, 2017 U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic Contact: 5th District Public Affairs Office: (757) 398-6272 After Hours: (757) 434-7712

Coast Guard, others rescue 4 children from water in Norfolk

 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard pulled three people from the water in Norfolk Friday including one of four children who drifted away from shore with no lifejacket.

Watchstanders at the Sector Hampton Roads Command Center in Portsmouth received a report from Norfolk Dispatch at about 6:40 p.m. that four children without lifejackets had drifted away from shore off Ocean View Beach.

Sector watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast to alert mariners in the area. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew launched from Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach, and a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew launched from Station Portsmouth.

The Station Little Creek crew arrived on scene to find a Norfolk police officer in the water working to rescue a young girl and her stepfather who had gone in the water after her. The crew pulled all three people from the water.

The girl and her father were taken to to Willoughby Bay Marina in Norfolk and placed in the care of local EMS.

Three of the four children initially reported in the water were rescued by a Norfolk Fire Department crew prior to the Coast Guard arriving on scene.

"The Coast Guard, Norfolk Police and Fire Departments train for emergencies like this and work together on a routine basis," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Perryman, Station Little Creek's coxswain on the case.  "This case was truly a team effort, and it was a blessing to work together and impact lives in a positive manner."

 

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