DOVER, Ark. – An 11-year-old is being honored as a hero in his hometown.
On Sunday, Constables in Dover and Martin presented Keegan Hogan a life-saving award for what he did this summer to prevent a seven-year-old from drowning.
On June 27, Storm Blackshear was having a blast at the Long Pool Recreation Area swimming hole. His group of about five were jumping from rocks and swimming for hours, but on the last go, things quickly went from fun to scary. Suddenly exhaustion seized him.
“I tried to swim back to shore but my body kept keeping me in place,” Blackshear explained.
A short cry for help turned several heads from his small group, but it was Hogan who lept from the shore and into action without hesitation.
“No one else would have gotten there before he went underwater, and there’s nothing you can do then,” Hogan said.
The 11-year-old closed the distance with the seven-year-old and held him up with one arm, using all his strength to reach shallow water. Blackshear admitted he was nervous when he first began to drown, but whenever Hogan came to his rescue, Blackshear said he was instantly relieved.
“I wasn’t that scared anymore,” Blackshear said. “He [Hogan] got back in the water, so I knew he was going to come here to save me.”
A hero to his small group, Hogan thought nothing of it until he arrived at Pleasant Grove Community Church Sunday and saw the constables for Martin and Dover Townships. They told his story, and they handed him an award.
“You’ve got to be very brave, and courageous, and you’ve got have a lot of strength to do that, and for you to do that and in honor of you we want to present you this plaque,” Martin Township Constable Nathan Jones stated.
Blackshear said he’s happy Hogan received recognition with the award. When asked why, Blackshear simply said, “Because he saved my life.”
Keegan has a wall of awards already for basketball, baseball and football, but he said he has a special place for his new plaque for saving a life.
“I think I’m a hero because there’s nothing that can stop him from drowning because he didn’t have a floaty or anything, so I just scooped in and saved him,” Hogan said.
Both boys encourage other swimmers to use the buddy system and always to keep others within sight around water.
According to the most recent data from the CDC, Arkansas saw the most drownings since 2009 in 2021. There were 58 drownings recorded in 2021 compared to 66 in 2009. To date, CDC has yet to compile and publish data for 2022 and 2023.