After making it ashore, Jones scrambled to find help before calling the police. An elderly couple and their friends helped him get the boy dried off and warmed up as he continued to shake from the cold water temperatures.
According to reports, the air temperature was only 57 degrees that afternoon.
When the boy’s dad finally arrived, Jones says his reaction was hardly what Jones had expected. The dad seemed un-phased by the harrowing incident.
In the video, you can see that he didn’t appear to be worried that he’d been separated by his son. He also seemingly reprimanded the 6-year-old for not swimming back ashore like he said he was going to.
His lax response to what Jones has since called a “traumatizing situation” only caused greater concern. But police and emergency personnel cleared the boy of any hypothermia, and sent him on his way with his father.
“Seeing the strength that kid had, and he didn’t give up. For him, to scream as loud as he could in that matter to get help, that kid is the real hero. That kid is really strong. That kid is the one who needs all the love and support,” Jones said.
No Formal Investigation
Nine days later, the Duluth Police Department released a statement that noted cause of the incident:
“The boy wanted to swim next to the sailboat holding a rope that was attached to the boat. At some point, the boy lost hold of the rope and the wind pushed the sailboat further away from the boy.” Authorities did not name either the boy or the father.
Mason Smith, another man fishing on the dock that day watched the entire incident unfold.
“There was no rope,” he said.
Jones also said there was no rope.
Both men describe the “rope” mentioned by police as the anchor that the father lifted while leaving his 6-year-old son to swim in the water.
Jones says he wishes police would have taken a closer look at the video his GoPro camera captured.
In processing the situation, Jones shared the video on his Instagram, where it’s since been shared millions of times, with people everywhere up in arms about the fathers’ actions.
“It was just surreal,” Jones said. “I don’t know why I had the feeling I wanted to fish the river on that specific day. I did. It kind of traumatized me a little bit, because when I went fishing a few days later — I was expecting to hear the scream.”
Jones, who has a 2-year-old and 5-year-old of his own, is still pretty shaken about the situation.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 6-year-old look me in the eye and be genuine and say, ‘I am happy I survived.’ That was one of the tougher things to hear,” said Jones.
