D-M OSI Agent saves drowning child

by Airman 1st Class Christine Griffiths
355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

6/6/2013 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz.,  -- One eight-year-old boy owes his life to an Office of Special Investigations Airman who saved him after four minutes underwater.

Special Agent Christopher Martin was at a pool in Marana, Ariz., talking with his wife and daughter, scanning the pool for his other children, when he noticed something was motionless under the water.

"I didn't really know what it was," Martin said. "I got up and started walking towards the edge of the pool. I walked probably 35-40 meters when I realized that it was a child, a brother of one of my son's friends. I thought to myself, 'This kid is just holding his breath, playing with his friends,' because there were a couple of kids about 10-15 feet from him."

This was not the case; the child wasn't moving, and Martin came to the realization that he needed to jump in to save him.

"When I got him to the top, the lifeguard had arrived and we both checked his pulse," said Martin. "He had a pulse, but wasn't breathing. During that time, another mother came over and asked how she could help."

They found the child had no open airway. The mother assisting literally took matters into her own hands.

"She opened up his mouth with her fingers," Martin said. "It was just enough for him to get his airway open, because about 45 seconds later he began breathing again."

The child had been underwater for approximately four minutes before he was spotted, but is currently released from the hospital and recovering, according to Martin.

"The mother was with a three and four-year-old, while the father was talking to another father," Martin said. "The father must've taken his eyes off his children for five minutes or so just walking around the pool. I guess that was just enough time."