5 Teens Formed a Human Chain Across a Frozen Pond

It was 3 p.m. on a freezing Thursday in December 2020, the last sled run of the day. Olivia Heid, 8, climbed onto an inflatable sled at Beacon Hill Country Club in Leonardo, New Jersey, with her 4-year-old brother RJ. Their parents, Stephanie Irlbeck and Rich Heid, watched from the top of the hill.

The Sled Goes Backwards

The sled went down backwards. It hit a patch of ice near a tree, launched off a ridge, and landed seven feet into a partially frozen pond. The inflatable began to sink. From the hilltop, their father screamed, "Hop off, hop off!" The kids were in about three feet of freezing water and could not get out.

Five Boys, One Chance

Five freshmen from Middletown High School North were standing at the edge of the pond: Kieran Foley, 14; Joseph Dietrich, 14; Drew Scalice, 14; Ryan Day, 15; and Tyler Armagan, 14. Foley and Scalice were Boy Scouts with Troop 47, and had just finished winter survival training at the Klondike Derby weeks earlier.

Foley waded straight in. His right boot got sucked off in the pond mud instantly. He kept going barefoot. The other four teens formed a human chain behind him on the ice to keep him anchored and to pass the children to shore.

One at a Time

Foley grabbed RJ first and handed him back down the chain. Then he turned around and got Olivia. Both kids reached the bank alive. Between the five boys, they lost one boot, a phone, and a pair of earbuds in the mud.

Ryan Day later summed it up: "Kieran jumped right in there without any hesitation." Foley, asked about his lost phone, said, "A life is much more valuable than a phone."

The Phone Call They Did Not Expect

The story exploded. The five boys appeared together on Good Morning America. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy called them personally to thank them. In May 2021, the Russell Berrie Foundation named them recipients of the Making a Difference Award and gave them $7,500 to split.

Stephanie Irlbeck and her husband tried to give the boys money on the day of the rescue. The teens refused. They said anyone would have done the same thing. Olivia and RJ went home warm and dry.