Gus Hutt has been fishing for years and it wouldn't have been strange to find something floating in the water that shouldn't be there. He spotted something bobbing in the distance, and if it hadn't have looked so much like a doll he might have never thought twice about it - and then the world would be grieving the death of a beautiful little boy.
Hutt was vacationing with his wife Sue on Matata Beach on North Island in New Zealand when he went out on a quick fishing excursion. He had been staying at Murphy's Holiday Camp for several days and had a favorite fishing spot. This time, however, he decided to go somewhere different.
He set up and went to check his fishing lines. That's when he saw something floating in the water. He thought it looked like a porcelain doll until the "doll" made a noise.
"He let out a little squak and I thought 'oh God, this is a baby and it's alive.'"
Apparently the 18-month-old boy belonged to a couple that was staying a short distance from Hutt.
"He was floating at a steady pace," he told The New Zealand Herald "If I had been a minute later I wouldn't have seen him."
#UPDATE "She ran to the tent and just shook it and asked, 'Where's your baby?' and the mother just screamed."
Posted by nzherald.co.nz on Sunday, November 4, 2018
Hutt scooped up the boy and swaddled him in towels, rushing him to the camp's main office.
The boy's parents were quickly alerted and weren't even aware their child was missing. Evidently the curious toddler unzipped his tent and wandered down to the beach. Hutt was able to trace his steps and says he doesn't think the boy could have been in the water for very long.
Even though the boy wandered off alone, it appears Someone was watching over him.
"it just wasn't his time," Hutt said.
Rebecca Salter, owner of the camp where the incident occurred described it as a "freakish miracle".
Whakatane Police confirmed to BBC that they attended the emergency and the baby was hospitalized as a precaution. No charges are expected against the parents.
