Boating captain saves young boy from drowning off of Pass-A-Grille Beach

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - Photos show the moment a boating captain jumped in to help save a young boy from drowning on Sunday.

"You could tell he was panicked being swept off of the beach area, and he knew that he was just adrift, so I wanted to immediately jump in," Ballyhoo Media Captain Craig Edwards said.

At the time, Edwards and Captain Patrick Foley were working their Sunday shift for Ballyhoo Media driving a massive boat with a light up billboard around Pinellas beaches. They were right near the southern tip of Pass-A-Grille beach when they spotted the boy chasing a ball. 

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They watched as he was swept out past the tip of the Jetty.

"This kid actually got to the ball. Once he had the ball, he tried to turn around and that's when we knew he was in trouble. He let go of the ball, and then he started struggling," Foley said.

Coincidentally, Edwards grew up as a lifeguard and has more than 50 rescues under his belt, so he knew exactly what to do.

"He was ready to go, Craig. There would have been no stopping him. Craig was ready to jump in. He went in socks and all," Foley said.

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At the same time, the boy's mother was also spotted struggling, appearing to try and go after her son, but was thankfully pulled into a nearby boat.

"I put him in a cross chest carry, and I was calmly talking to him, trying to calm him down, and we just nice and easy took a swim toward the coast," Edwards said.

Edwards said the family didn't appear to speak English, but said he could see the gratitude on their faces.

"At the end, we just gave each other a big high five, and I saw his grandad up on the sidewalk, and he had a smile ear to ear. It was a really great moment that this boy was back on land and safe," Edwards said.

To date, Ballyhoo Media said they've had at least five documented cases of swimmers being rescued by their own employees.

"It's fortunate that we are there on these 10-hour boat rides advertising. We're also looking out for the well-being of everybody who is in the water near us," Edwards said.

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