11-month-old girl dies Thursday after being rescued from capsized boat

An 11-month-old girl who Clay County Fire Rescue found trapped under a pontoon boat near Black Creek Marina on Sunday has died.

“The only thing I heard was ‘My baby is under the boat.’ That’s all I needed to hear,” Clay County Fire Rescue Lt. Thomas Gill said.

Then Gill instinctively dove four to five feet into the water with no gear to try and rescue the child who was wearing a lifejacket.

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“At that point, I’m feeling around. Hopefully, finding a jacket, arm, leg, or anything,” Gill said.

“There was no hesitation on his part,” Gill’s partner Lt. Joe Hutchins Hutchins said.

Hutchins then performed CPR on the child after rescuing three to four other people on the boat. At the time, the child was breathing and then rushed to the hospital by ambulance. But despite their efforts, the baby died late Thursday.

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This rescue started Sunday when a call came in reporting a Sea-Doo Boat near Black Creek Marina capsized with a baby trapped underneath it.

Hutchins was off duty but responded to the call because he was only minutes away. And Gill was right behind him.

They rushed to the dock to get a better look at the situation.

“Literally there was a dad and son at the boat ramp with the motor running ready to go,” Hutchins said.Hutchins and Gill caught a ride with them. They quickly reached the capsized boat and started looking for the child underneath it.

“You’re in the water - you know you have a boating incident is to start counting for people,” Clay County Fire Chief Billy Futch said.

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Futch said to always wear a lifejacket and have a satellite device to help pinpoint your location.

“Once it’s registered, we’ll know what size vessel it is, who its owners are, and the vessel ID number,” Futch said.Chief Futch said his prayers go out to the family that lost their 11-month-old child Thursday.

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