Dr. Insanity - When Missing Children Realize They've Been Rescued
Episode Date: December 28, 2025In this video we show the beautiful moments where missing children reunite with their families. Thank you everyone for watching, and of course thanks to Lifegard for sponsoring the video! This video... was made for educational purposes only. No physical injury or harm is shown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
At Capital One, we're more than just a credit card company.
We're people just like you who believe in the power of yes.
Yes to new opportunities.
Yes to second chances.
Yes to a fresh start.
That's why we've helped over 4 million Canadians get access to a credit card.
Because at Capital One, we say yes, so you don't have to hear another no.
What will you do with your yes?
Get the yes you've been waiting for at Capital One.ca.ca.
Terms and conditions apply.
This girl went missing hours ago and was trapped down a well.
However, miraculously, she survived, and this man was able to rescue her.
But there are countless other examples of when missing children realized they've been saved,
like when this child was found in the middle of the woods.
Or when this boy was saved from drowning after being ditched by his own father in the middle of a river.
He's grieving for a long.
I know, yep.
And he would not listen.
Let's first join this detective who's trying to figure out why this two-year-old boy was found alone next to a busy road with no parents in sight.
Is he this little day?
Yeah.
Hi!
He was so close to the street.
Here you go.
It's scary.
He's very friendly.
He's very careful.
No.
My husband's been driving around.
He can't find anybody that's very likely looking.
And he was walking this way, right?
He was coming towards this way, yeah, from that street.
He's been watching him before.
The young man on the bike found the toddler playing right next to the road with his ball and stayed with him until more help arrived.
Those on the scene had tried to find anyone nearby that knew the boy but to no avail.
What's strange though is that he didn't seem at all stressed or concerned.
In fact, it looks as though he's just wandered straight out of his house and onto the street.
Did you see where he came from?
Because I looked up because I was just playing basketball, and I'm pretty sure he came this way, and he was coming out of the street.
So I started looking hard, and I was like, there's a random child standing in the middle of the road.
How old do you think he is? Like one?
No more than two.
Can you hold them in face them our way so we can snap a photo of them real quick?
Say cheese!
Cheese!
You got one?
What's your name?
I don't know.
What's your name?
You like Batman?
It turns out his name is Mateo.
And after sending a photo around the police department, the officers are able to find the address he belongs to.
The issue is, the cops can't be sure if it's even safe for him to be there.
What sort of parent would let their two-year-old wander off like this?
So the cop heads to the address himself to scout it out, and he simply couldn't have expected what he was met with.
Is this open?
Yeah.
Are you missing a little boy?
No, I'm not.
Are you?
Do you have a little boy?
Wait, we have him.
Why?
Is this him?
Mateo?
What?
Is that, man, is this your son?
Yes, why?
Okay.
My God, I was sleeping.
Alright.
He got out?
He was in the road.
40 Central.
I'm with mom.
It turns out the mother had absolutely no idea that Mateo was missing and actually just thought he was sleeping in his room.
It's obvious that she cares about him though, and it seems as though this was just an innocent mistake.
So the cops decide to reunite this mother with her baby while also making sure that this will never happen again.
How old was the kid that found him?
I'd say like 13.
Really?
Good for him.
Where did you know?
Relax, relax, relax.
Look, you're okay.
How much on my kid is okay?
He's, he's fine.
You have Beto?
That happens, okay.
We get it.
Hey, there he is.
All right.
Look at that smile.
He's happy.
Hey, bud.
You're going to have to put another lock on that door.
No, I usually come at the top.
You're going to have to get those adult-proof things they put on the doors.
Yeah.
For the door knob.
Do you have, is there, is there, is there a knob on the inside door or is it a handle?
It's a, it's just a knob.
Okay, you can buy, you can buy the thing that goes around the knob that will allow you to lock it,
but it won't allow him to, I had about 400 of them on my house.
I got all over my house.
I can barely use it.
I know.
My wife couldn't use it.
Open the door for me.
In the span of just 30 minutes, Mateo was reunited with his mother, armed with some bulletproof
parental advice from the officers.
But this next missing child wasn't as fortunate, and it took three years for him to be found.
Holy crap.
Is it him?
A little bit older, but yeah.
His parents were beyond disbelief when they realized Connor Jack was even still alive.
He's an autistic teenager who went missing in September of 2019 in California when he was just 16
and a search effort came up totally dry.
That was until April of 2022
when a resident of Park City, Utah,
called the cops to report a man
sleeping outside a local gas station.
Due to the high altitude,
the area rarely saw homeless people
as it's simply too cold.
So the cops investigated
to make sure the man was safe.
You look like you're shivering.
You cold?
You want to come sit in his car and warm up for a minute?
Can't have you sitting in front of the door here all night.
I'm not being taken anywhere.
No, you're not being taken anywhere.
Just come sit in the car and warm up.
Where's your shopping cart at?
Got stolen.
You got stolen?
That's no good.
Okay.
You have a knife or a gun or anything like that?
No, bazook a gospel.
Okay.
These cops had actually been in contact with the man multiple times over the last few days,
but were unable to get any information out of him.
And it's not hard to imagine why.
Take a look at the way he talks to the cops and how closed off he seems to be.
despite how friendly and helpful the officers are.
Where were you at when your shopping car got stolen?
What's that?
What doesn't matter?
This situation was just so strange and the cops decided to take his fingerprints and do some investigating.
What they uncovered was an arrest warrant from Nevada from February, thickening the plot further.
But it turns out this arrest warrant would break the story wide open as the cops were able to use the name list
to uncover a missing person's poster
and contact who they thought could be his parents.
Without skipping a beat,
they drove from Idaho Falls to Utah.
And this is the interaction that followed.
The missing person photo that we located was this.
Yes.
And then the photo that came from Nevada
for the arrest was this.
Holy crap.
Is it him?
A little bit older, but yeah.
And what stood out to me was the ears.
He looks pretty.
similar to this. His hair's longer right now. His beard's a little bit thicker.
My sweetheart's life. Oh my God.
Can you go back now?
Yeah, I definitely will do my best to bring him home.
After a long three years, living homeless on the cold streets of Park City, Utah,
Connor Jack was finally reunited with his family. It's incredible to think that this kid survived
alone for three years, but this next child was close to not making it.
If it wasn't for the help of man's best friend.
Come on.
Hey, buddy.
Good a boy, brother, buddy.
This police canine was the only way that this three-year-old boy was found after he
wandered out of his garden and into the woods of DeLand, Florida.
Apparently he'd gone missing early in the morning and the police recalled at around 11.30 a.m.
When the family was at loss, with how thick and hard to traverse Floridian Forest
sent to be, the cops decided they'd bring Midnight the Sniffer Dog with them to try and track down
the boy. After providing him with a blanket covered with his scent, Midnight was quickly off
in search of the three-year-old.
Hey, Mac, are you on a phone number?
Yeah, can you stay here?
Midnight had picked up the trail so quickly that he was practically dragging his handler through the woods.
We also get a great view of the garden where the boy went missing, a trail that leads straight into the forest with no fences, gates, or anything to stop a curious toddler from simply wandering off.
Okay.
After about 90 seconds of searching though, midnight seems to lose the scent,
but that's when the officer hears something from the bushes.
I'm coming, I'm coming.
I'm coming.
I'm coming.
Get him, Bubba.
Find the Bubba.
Come here, buddy.
Come on, I'm gonna take you home.
I'm gonna take you home, okay?
Hey, buddy.
Get your bike it?
Come on, guys.
Hey, buddy.
Good job, buddy.
Good job, midnight.
Good job, Bubba.
After hours away from home, the boy was finally found, and all of it, thanks to midnight and the officers, finally reuniting with his family.
family.
The mother, of course, was over the moon to have her boy back in her arms.
And the canine midnight was, of course, rewarded with a little treat.
The unfortunate truth is that this missing child was not an isolated incident.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, over 460,000 children are reported missing every year in the United States.
And many of these children simply get lost in places they've never been, just like the case we just witnessed.
With many children lacking access to a phone or awareness of the area, their best bet is to alert people nearby.
But now let's take a look at this case, where a mother and her child accidentally crashed their car into a ditch,
and police were in a race to help them both escape before it was too late.
She's above water. It's a baby above water?
Yeah, baby's breathing.
child crashed in Flagler County, Florida and had managed to drive into a ditch filled with water.
Their car was upside down and filling with water. Neither the mother or child were able to escape on
their own, so the race was on to save them both. Hey, can you hear us? To share us off it.
All right, I got a female bleeding, heavily, heavily, heavily bleeding. She's above water. Is the baby
above water? Yeah, baby's breathing.
Watch your eyes.
Let's get the baby out.
We're coming, ma'am.
All right?
We're going to get your baby first, all right?
We got a kid in here.
We got a baby's head is barely above water.
All right, all right.
Baby's under water?
No, it's barely above.
Got the door.
You got the bus?
Yeah.
How about you stuff out?
I'll stuff in there.
I'll get the baby out for you.
Okay.
And hand you the baby.
All right.
I got the door.
Hey, sweetie.
You got a child that's really not responding.
She's above the water.
Are you okay?
She is.
Yeah, she is responding?
She's saying she's pretty hurt.
There's a baby.
The baby was passed off to another member of the fire and rescue department
whose sole job was to warm her up and ensure she's safe.
With how little she was responding, the panic wasn't over yet.
But most importantly, the mother's still in the car and she's bleeding profusely.
They need to get her out and get to the hospital quickly.
Or this kid might wake up alone.
Hey, she was breathing.
She was breathing.
Get me a roof ladder.
Want me to break this one drop too?
I got a window quick.
We're gonna put a roof ladder.
Hang on, are you able to reach in here?
Move the seat forward?
You able?
I'm sitting on the door.
Nope, don't bust the window.
I'm not.
I'm gonna trouble you right now, okay?
I want to see if I can use it.
Sorry.
Hey, get me a roof ladder.
There it comes.
Hey, I want you to position the roof ladder right in here.
Watch your foot, watch your foot.
Hey, I'm gonna need a lot of hands on this right here.
lot of hands on this right now. Can one of you guys hold the ladder like that?
Yep, perfect. So it doesn't go anywhere.
I got it. You're all right, ma'am. I'm going to have to pull you off, okay? I know. I'm
sorry. You'll have to have a lot. You got the ladder?
All right. All right. Put that backwood on here. Anthony, take care of the baby.
We'll get the female out.
It's taking a huge group of EMTs, cops, and firemen to get the mother out of this car,
and it's getting more and more hectic by the minute.
But this one man is managing to stay calm and orchestrate this entire rescue mission by himself.
It should only be a matter of time before they get her out.
They just have to hope they were quick enough.
All right. You're good right here.
Hey, sir.
You're my trunk.
On the right hand side, it should be a rope.
Okay, okay, button.
Okay, hang on.
Tag lights to the right is the button.
I can.
You're good, you're doing great, ma'am.
You're doing great.
Take nice and deep breaths.
What do you need for me, dude?
We're gonna have to pull her out.
That's gonna be a lot of...
Gunner!
Get the utility rope!
Gunner, you told your rope.
You're told you rope.
Alright, you ready?
Oh, no.
No?
What's your name?
Nick, Nick, what do you need, Nick?
Nick.
What do you need, man?
All right, I'm just trying to get her off on this board.
But we don't need her sliding off.
If you guys, arm team, we'll need your manpower.
Alright, slide this board off real quick.
Right here, leave it right there.
Despite the woman being in severe pain, the team was able to use the ladder and rope to lift her out of the car and into an ambulance.
But both the mother and the child were taken back to a hospital and treated for injuries.
But this next child was in an even more urgent situation.
urgent situation floating in the middle of open water in what's nothing short of a
miracle rescue this man was fishing in the middle of a river in Duluth
Minnesota when he saw something he's not used to seeing out there you're gonna be
able to make it in the shore you need some help okay
Well, your dad's back there, but I'm going to bring you in the shore, okay?
I wouldn't get in there.
I know, I know, just calm down, just calm down.
I'm gonna get to my dad.
Come down, just go to my dad.
All right, so, no, you can't pull right now.
Just hold on a second.
I need to get me to my dad.
Okay, but I'm gonna bring you over to land, okay?
Just calm down, you're on my boat.
You don't have to worry about the current taking you out.
The man knows that the most important thing is to get this boy to safety.
He can worry about reuniting him later.
However, right now, there's an even more pressing issue at hand.
If the boy was to pull himself onto the boat, that side would tip under the surface,
filling it with water and ultimately sinking it.
So they need to figure out how to get the boy back to shore without sinking the boat
and doing them both.
Quickly, the fisherman thinks he's figured it out, but it's not going to be easy for either
of them.
I figure out a way to get you up and out without bringing all the water in, okay?
So I think if you can hold on like that, can you do that for me?
Can I get you to shore?
Yeah.
Okay.
And then you'll be able to land on the dock, okay?
Can you do that for me?
Yes.
You're strong, right?
Yes.
Okay, all right.
So I just need to be strong for a few more seconds.
All right.
So I'm gonna try not to hit you.
So I'm just gonna back us up.
And what's this?
Oh, that's my mittle bucket.
There's fathead minnals in there, okay?
My dad's not gone.
He's just on the other side of that grass over there, okay?
Okay.
And I've been screaming for a lot.
I know.
Yep.
It sounds as though the boy was actually trying to warn his dad that he was in danger and he simply wasn't listening.
At this point, you've got to wonder if it's even safe to return him back to his dad.
But right now, all he's concerned about is keeping the boy calm and saving his life.
All right, so I'm just trying to do this, okay?
Can you hold on, keep holding on like that?
Yeah.
Okay, all right, good.
How old are you?
I can't remember.
You can't remember?
Are you that old? Are you like 101?
102?
I'm young, but I can grow up fast.
Yeah, you know, kids do grow up fast because I have a kid.
You know how old my son is?
He is six.
And I told me how old is I'm six.
Oh, you're six?
Yeah, and I look like I'm seven.
Oh, wow, that's good.
That must mean you must eat all your fruit and vegetables.
So what we're going to do is we're almost.
there okay we're making waves are you cold all right so once we get up there all you have to
do is get on land and you can wait for your dad okay i don't know if there's any towels or anything
how long have you been in the water a long time okay why you were dad because you were coming in
no i just didn't i thought he was coming to get you but he didn't come
Yeah, I know you did.
I heard you screaming, so that's why I came over here.
Even more concerningly, it seems as though the boy's father knew he fell in and simply decided not to try and save him.
At this point, there's signs that something is very wrong.
Luckily, though, the pair are about to make it to shore, and it won't be long until the man meets his father and finds out exactly what that problem might be.
Yeah, are you still really, really cold?
Yeah, I'm colder.
Yeah, okay.
Can you make it up? Hold on. Good job. Hold on.
Let me get this off.
Where was he?
I think he got blown away over there. Come on, let's see if we can find somebody to get you a napkin.
What this case does show is the importance of kids wearing life jackets.
If the boy wasn't wearing his, then it's likely this whole ordeal would have ended very differently.
But now that he's out of the water, that doesn't necessarily mean the boy is safe.
river water can be extremely cold and a prolonged stay in it could mean anything from slight chills
to hypothermia so it's vital if they find a way to dry him off and warm him up hi uh do you have any
towels on his dad left him stranded out in the middle of the river and he's and he's saying he's
feeling cold i was just somebody that was fishing but i want to make sure that he's fine then we're
gonna call 911 yeah we gotta make sure you're doing okay so you don't have hypothermia or something
like that sitting there.
9-1.
Why?
Why don't you want to call now?
Are you scared?
Yeah.
It's okay.
We just got to get you on and make sure you're getting checked out.
No.
All right?
I don't want 911, please.
Do you still feel really, really cold?
Yeah.
Okay, come on here, bud.
Yeah, so he's got you a towel.
Where was he in the phone?
Yeah, he was in the bay.
When I came up fishing, his dad was right next to him.
Yeah?
Maybe 30, 40, 40 yards.
west or east of the ramp there and the current that swept him all the way out here oh and his dad
was actually two people drowned here in that same spot last year well it was just one of those things
where i thought his dad was coming because his dad has a sailboat right there and he's still he's still
not coming so hasn't came and checked in on him so okay just pull this up over your head now we just
got to make sure we get you warm and that you're going to be okay because we don't know one
okay okay we're going to get you old fixed up here jack because i don't know how long he
he had been out there in the water prior to me showing up either.
So I just want to make sure he doesn't have hypothermia or anything like that that's going to sit in.
Despite the boy's reluctance to get 911 involved, the adults know that it's the right thing to do.
They can cover him with towels and dry him off as much as they want,
but emergency vehicles will be able to fully ensure that he's safe and not at risk of hypothermia or anything else.
Around the time of arrival is also when we finally get to meet his dad
and his reaction to finding out what happened is far from what you'd expect.
David.
I'm very pleased to meet you.
Yep.
All right.
Sounds like he was a bit nervous.
Well, he was screaming and it was like,
I looked back to see where you were at and you were a couple hundred yards away.
Then I was happy I did come here because they were here and had a boat
was able to come and get you.
Yes.
No, I'm very thankful of them.
Me too.
First I say, thousand and then thank you.
Yep.
That saved me a bunch of hassle.
Yeah.
The river takes him a little bit.
Calm down, slowly swim to shore.
You got this.
We've been in this before.
I tried to get him with the boat, and courts, the wind's picking up.
So it just goes right across the river.
Yep.
So I had to try and walk it back.
That is super slow.
Yep.
So thank you very much.
Yep.
I would chat longer, but I think I'd leave it.
Yep.
Again, thank you, thank you.
To put it mildly, something seemed off about the way he reacted to all of this.
He seemed much too flippant and jovial about the whole thing.
Saying it have been a hassle to rescue his son seems extremely insensitive.
And to be frank, he seems like he's been drinking.
But regardless, the boy was checked out by EMS and was eventually returned to his family,
hopefully for this to never happen again.
But nothing comes close to the heroic rescue of this four-year-old girl who fell down a web,
and was saved by a Syrian rescue team.
It happened outside of Aleppo in early 2021 when Sumaya was playing near her home
and accidentally fell down a well.
A branch of the Syrian civil defense was quickly dispatched to see if she was even still alive.
Come on, come on.
Just.
Yes, yes, yes.
Somehow, Sima'amu, y'amma, y'allah, y'allah, j'yit'i'i'i'i.
Somehow, Simaya managed to survive the fall completely uninjured, if not absolutely terrified.
She had walked down a dusty cavern away from the sunlight, so any longer down there could have spelled disaster.
But this man was about to bring her back to the entrance and save her.
Go ahead, come, take, take, take.
Go to the bar, go to the bar, go to the bar, go.
Go.
Y'all, y'all.
Let's have your hand with you, hey?
Hey.
Hey, he's tall.
Here, we're, we're gonna'n't?
What's the name, you, halloa?
What's the name, you, halloa?
What I'm gonna do you?
I'll get you da-a-a-a-a-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-a-ha-a-ha-a-ha.
Y'amah!
Yeah, come.
Sima'amah!
Sumaya was administered first aid by the rescue team, but was found to be completely fine and uninjured.
If somebody hadn't seen her fall down the well, then things could have ended very differently.
But thankfully, she was returned home and reunited.
and reunited with her family.
