A Feelgood Story

Fishers Use Their Line To Save Drowning Boy
(WCCO) Little Canada, Minn. It's an amazing tale of a very big catch, only it wasn't a fish at the other end of the line. A local teen who nearly drowned was rescued with the help of a lucky fishing rod. Fourteen-year-old Tou Ger Yang is lucky to be alive. He nearly drowned while trying to retrieve some trash that had fallen into Gervais Mill Pond in Little Canada, Minn. "I went into the water to go grab the bottle. I couldn't make it back," said Tou Ger. "I had on jeans. They made me heavy. I was sinking down to the bottom. "Some of his cousins, jumped into try and save him. They weren't able to reach him using conventional rescue methods. When all failed, Tou Ger's cousin Kong Vang improvised. He cast his fishing rod to retrieve him. It took three tries. "It was actually a bobber," he said, "a fake worm with two hooks on it." "I was just flapping my hands, and all of the sudden it just wrapped around my hands and the hook got on me too," said Tou Ger.Tou Ger weighs 105 pounds. That much weight should have snapped the eight-pound fishing line his cousins were using, but lucky line helped reel the young fisherman in. "They slowly pulled me in," said Tou Ger. "That's why I'm still here."Several of the cousins performed CPR, though they said they didn't have any formal training -- only what they knew from health class in school and from watching television. But their lifesaving skills worked, and now the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department has awarded the brave fishermen for their heroic actions.Tou Ger was in the hospital for four days but is now doing better. He's even gone fishing again since his ordeal. "It's a miracle," said Tou Ger. "I guess it wasn't my time to go yet."

This story was written by Dennis Douda.