The miracle boy was caught in a riptide off the coast of Washington State and dragged under the surface.
By the time surf rescuers reached him and carried him ashore, 12-year-old Charles ‘Dale’ Ostrander had spent 20 minutes under water. He should have been dead, but somehow lifeguards managed to find a pulse!
Nobody expected Dale to survive, even his rescuers had given up hope and members of his church group — who he was visiting Long Beach Wa. with — were on their knees praying.
“I’ve been doing this since 1978,” says Doug Knutzen, who carried Dale ashore.
“It’s something you never get used to, but I knew that the boy was gone, absolutely gone.”
The accident happened on Friday August 5. By Sunday August 7, Dale had opened his eyes at the OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon.
Doctors have warned his parents, Dale may have suffered brain damage — but Chad and Kirsten Ostrander are just happy to have their son back, and are thanking God for his miracle rescue.
“We trust (God) no matter what,” Kirsten says. “If he chooses to take Dale to heaven, and if he still chooses that, then he’s still good. And if he chooses to bless us and give us back our son, he’s still good.”
We wish Dale a speedy recovery. What a miracle!
– Ian Garland
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