Iosefa Riley John, who goes by Riley, was awarded by the Juneau Police Department on Friday for his bravery in saving 5-year-old Mason Varner from drowning in Gold Creek on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A 14-year-old student at Yaakoosge Daakahidi High School, John was out with his friends for a stroll in Cope Park on Wednesday evening when Varner fell into the creek. John jumped in after the boy, who was quickly being swept downriver in near-freezing waters. John saved Varner’s life, JPD said.<\/p>\n
A friend Seth Gerrin, 16, was also honored for assisting John by helping pull him and Varner out of the river. John, suffering from the cold, was having a hard time exiting.<\/p>\n
In a Thursday interview with the Empire, John said he “didn’t think about it that much,” and followed his instincts to just “help the kid out.”<\/p>\n
Varner suffered only bumps and bruises from the ordeal. His mother, Kristen Hemlock, kept Varner home from school Thursday and attended the event Friday to meet John and thank him.<\/p>\n
“I am just so thankful for him, that he saved my little boy,” Hemlock said Thursday. “It could have been so much different. I can’t even express in any words how incredible he (John) is.”<\/p>\n