Family trapped by powerful floodwaters until 2 neighbors grab a kayak and paddleboard
After heavy rainfall caused severe flooding that trapped a desperate Florida family inside their home for hours, two neighborhood brothers with a paddleboard and kayak took dramatic action to do what they could to help.
The rescue of a mother and son, plus their three dogs, took place Monday in Palm Bay, a city in Brevard County roughly 70 miles southeast of Orlando, as heavy rain flooded homes and streets across the area.
Brittany Grant, a Palm Bay resident, told ClickOrlando that floodwaters began pouring into her home — which forced her and her young son to climb onto the kitchen counter to dodge the rising water, she said.
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But with water continuing to rise, Grant called 911 to no avail, according to reports.
After Grant and her son remained stranded on the counter for hours, she decided to turn to Facebook to plead for help.
Her post caught the attention of a neighborhood mother — whose teenage sons, Lucas Marshall, 17, and Jonah Marshall, 15, set out to rescue the family using just a borrowed kayak and a paddleboard.
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Jonah Marshall told ClickOrlando he didn't think twice about helping another family.
"Because they needed help, and they were in trouble and danger, so [I] just didn’t think about it and just went to help them," the teen said.
Lucas Marshall described the rescue as "nerve-wracking a little bit," but said he tried to keep Grant's son calm by striking up a conversation.
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"It was good because, like, we’re physical and able to do it, so [we] might as well," he said.
"So I was just asking him, like, ‘OK, what’s your name?’" Lucas Marshall added.
"I was like, ‘How’s school going?’ I was like, ‘This is a weird day, isn’t it?’"
The stranded mom said that she was extremely grateful for her neighbors' help.
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"The community came together and saved us," Grant said, according to ClickOrlando. "If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know how we would have gotten out."
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Fox News Digital reached out to Grant for comment.
The flooding in Palm Bay also turned deadly Monday, when 34-year-old Joshua Bennett died after his vehicle became trapped in rising floodwaters.
His wife, Stacy Petit Bennett, told WESH 2 News he called her on FaceTime as water surrounded his vehicle.
"He called me on FaceTime, and he was just crying, like, 'I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do,'" she said.
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