Trending Topics

BWC: Kan. officer, fire rescue save toddler trapped in PVC pipe

The 14-month-old child fallen about ten feet deep into a pipe around 12 inches in diameter; a Moundridge Police officer’s creative approach was instrumental in his rescue

By Mike Stunson
The Charlotte Observer

MOUNDRIDGE, Kan. — A toddler is shaken, but otherwise unharmed, after being rescued from the bottom of an underground PVC pipe, Kansas authorities say.

Trending
The Haverhill PD is receiving $34,493 to continue equipping its police force with less lethal weapons, while the Lawrence PD was awarded $37,617 to purchase a new marked vehicle
Law enforcement officers risk their lives every shift — and these heroic police rescues showcase how officers went above and beyond to save lives this year
Officer Colton Pulsipher, 29, who was known as a “great family man,” leaves behind a wife and three kids
Officer William Kasberg, a 30-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department, died while he was preparing to attend training

The Moundridge Police Department said the 14-month-old child became stuck in the PVC pipe — just 12 inches in diameter —around 2 p.m. Sunday, July 28.

Authorities found the child “upright in the bottom of the pipe,” which police said was 10 to 12 feet deep.

One police officer’s “creative” approach to get the child out was “instrumental” in the rescue, police said. The child was lifted from the pipe through a makeshift “catch pole” that the officer constructed using rope and a smaller PVC pipe, the department said.

The rescue took 15 to 20 minutes and officers said the child was uninjured.

“We extend our deepest gratitude to all the first responders for their swift and effective action, which transformed a dangerous situation into a successful rescue,” police said.

Moundridge is about a 40-mile drive northwest from Wichita.

©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.