When faced with a potentially dangerous situation, one young boy is credited with helping to save his grandfather.
On Nov. 7, Jacob Teolis, 7, was out in the bush between Fort Assiniboine and Swan Hills with his grandfather, Westlock resident Jim Mitchell and Mitchell’s friend Fred Torvalson.
While en route to his trapper’s cabin, Mitchell’s quad broke through some ice, injuring him so much he was unable to stand, let alone walk, he said.
That’s when Mitchell opted to send Jacob back along the trail they’d just been on to find Torvalson, whose quad was mired in the muskeg about half a mile away.
“I said, “Jake, do you feel brave enough to go back on the trail and tell Fred that Poppa’s hurt?’” Mitchell said.
Jacob took off and returned some time later with Torvalson in tow. While waiting for his grandson to return with Torvalson, Mitchell had managed to crawl along the ground, chop up some wood and get a fire going.
He added he wasn’t in a lot of danger, as he’s experienced in surviving in the bush, but Jacob’s actions meant Mitchell was able to get home safely a lot quicker.
“It wasn’t a big deal, but it certainly could have been,” Mitchell said. “Young Jake did very good. That’s pretty brave for a seven-year-old because he knew I was hurt, and he knew he had a job to do and he did it.
“We’re pretty proud of him.”
Speaking a week after he got help for his grandfather, Jacob said it felt good to be a hero.
And was he scared when asked to walk half a mile to find help?
“Nope,” Jacob said, adding he knew where he had to go to find Torvalson, so he didn’t get lost on the way.
“I just went straight; we didn’t do any turns, it was just straight,” he said.
Jacob’s mother Shannon said she’s proud of what her son did, and can see face that he, too, is happy he could help his grandfather.
“He’s got a big smile on his face,” she said.
