The Incredible Rescue of a 1-Year-Old Who Fell Nine Feet Down a Narrow Conduit Captured on Camera
Moundridge Police Department
Heart-stopping video captured the moment a quick-thinking rescue crew saved a toddler who had fallen down a deep, narrow PVC pipe in his Kansas yard. Bentley, a 14-month-old, was playing in his family’s front yard on Sunday when he stepped over a loose manhole cover and plummeted nine feet — about five times his height.
“We’re gonna get you out, Bentley. It’s okay,” his father Blake reassured his screaming son as the emergency crew gathered around the hole, which was only one foot in diameter, and strategized how to bring the toddler back above ground. “Momma’s right here. We’re gonna get you out. It’s okay,” his mother, Elizabeth, added while holding back tears.
As the boy’s wails echoed in the background, the crew crafted a catch pole from a smaller PVC pipe and rope, similar to those used to snare wildlife, to rescue Bentley. The dramatic video shows one crew member carefully maneuvering the pipe as another reaches into the narrow hole and grabs hold of the toddler, who instantly stops sobbing upon seeing sunlight again.
Miraculously, Bentley was not injured in the ordeal. “It was so stressful and traumatic, honestly, and it felt like the longest 25 minutes of my life,” Elizabeth told KAKE. The relieved mother described witnessing the freak accident unfold before her eyes — Bentley was running across the lawn when he stepped on the loose cover, flipping it over and plunging into the exposed hole.
Blake, who was working on a car in the driveway, was alerted by the shrieks of both his son and his wife. “My wife screamed that horrible scream. I was with her when she gave birth to two babies, and this is the scream you never want to hear because you know something treacherous has happened,” he told the outlet.
Although heartbreaking, Bentley’s constant cries were encouraging as they indicated he was conscious. First responders tried several different methods to reach the young boy, who in his panic thwarted several of their attempts — Bentley threw off a rope the crew had tried to loop around him.
The team also attempted to use a PVC pipe with an L-shaped bend on the end to loop under the child. When that failed, they came up with the idea to create a catch pole. “He immediately calmed down. It was a huge sigh of relief,” said Blake. Bentley was muddied and shocked but did not require a trip to the hospital.
Officials said the boy’s quick thinking might have saved him from further harm — they suspect he slowed his descent by flailing his arms as he fell. No one is certain of the purpose of the pipe in the family’s yard, but it may have been connected to a sump pump at one point, used to divert excess rainwater away from the house. Blake and Elizabeth have already made plans to bolt the cover down to prevent any future accidents.
