‘It was pure adrenalin:’ Local hero recounts Saturday river rescue

Brad Pilon believes everything came down to timing during a Saturday river rescue on the South Saskatchewan River.

He was on mile six of eight, running along Saskatoon’s Meewasin Trail with his wife and two friends on bicycles, when things took a turn.

“I was just trailing a little bit behind and noticed them up ahead — they had pointed down to some bikes that were just sitting empty,” he told John Gormley on Tuesday.

“It was almost at that very moment I heard some kids screaming for help.”

The two boys were eight- and seven-year-old cousins, playing by the river.

Pilon said he saw the seven-year-old on the shore looking for help, along with a boy screaming and struggling in the water.

“I turned around, immediately started running down the bank … He yelled out to me saying, ‘He can’t swim.’ Without hesitation, I was in the water,” Pilon said.

A woman on the trail called 911 and Pilon’s wife whipped out her camera to capture the rescue. Immediately after the recording was finished, Pilon said she gave the boy her jacket to warm up, along with other warmth coming from onlookers.

“I don’t know too much about previously what had happened,” he said. “The current wasn’t too strong where he was at. It was a good four, five strokes to get out to him.

“He looked pretty limp and thankfully we had some support there to help him out.”

Pilon will be recognized this September with a STAR award at the Badge, Shield and Star event hosted by Rotary Clubs of Saskatoon.

He said he doesn’t consider himself a hero, just someone who was there at the right time.

“It was pure adrenalin,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that went right … I believe if I had headphones on — I like listening to music loud — I don’t think I would have heard him.”

The boys were both driven home safely following the scare.

Following the incident, Pilon and his wife returned to their hotel in Saskatoon. He added he and his wife were able to finish the final stretch of their run the next morning.