A mother’s worst nightmare was caught on a Pierce County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s body camera earlier this month.
Her son, Hunter, was out fishing with a friend and the friend’s grandparents on Alder Lake when they went missing on the evening of July 2.
Deputies searched the shoreline and got boats in the water to look for the missing boat and passengers. A helicopter was called out, and the whole lake was searched all night with no luck.
“I had no intention of going back to the dock, and talking to his mom, and telling her that I was done with my search. I was going to continue searching,” said Sgt. David Sutherland with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and Marine Services unit.
In the early hours of the next morning, Sgt. Sutherland and another deputy decided to go up a remote part of the Little Nisqually River that feeds into Alder Lake.
The missing boat was finally found in a narrow canyon of the river with a broken-down motor, with all occupants huddled in a cove nearby.
“I will tell you from my perspective as a first responder, it was immediate relief. I was dreading going back to shore and telling Mom I couldn’t find her child,” said Sgt. Sutherland. “There was so much relief. And then we found a very relieved mother standing on the dock waiting for us.”
Now, mom Sarah and son Hunter had the chance to thank the deputies who saved them and brought Hunter home.
“For 12 hours, I thought my son was dead. It was the worst experience I’ve ever had in my life, and I’m very thankful that the deputies were able to help keep me calm, and there was never a point where I felt like they weren’t engaged in helping some way or another, and so that played a big part in keeping me calm,” said Sarah. “I was living every mother’s worst nightmare at that point. The only difference is thanks to Pierce County Sheriff’s, fire department, and everybody... it was a positive outcome and he came back to us, and that doesn’t happen all the time.”
Luckily, Sarah says that Hunter was kept calm by his friend’s grandparents.
“The family that he was with did an amazing job at helping him feel like everything that was going on was normal... they were just having a sleepover campout, and so that helped him a lot. Needless to say, I was probably a little more scared than he was!” added Sarah.
“We kind of just went to bed and then boom! They came out of nowhere — the rescue boats,” said Hunter.
When asked how he felt when he saw the rescue boats, he said, “I was pretty much eating a cookie.”
And when asked if he’d go boating again soon, Hunter said, “As long as she is with me,” referring to his mom, “I will go boating.”
Hunter hugged the deputies who rescued him, as Sarah, a professional baker, arrived at the station with a homemade cake to accompany her tearful gratitude.
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