Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Rescuer trying to track down young boy pulled from water

Sonya Bateson
By Sonya Bateson
Regional content leader, Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post·Bay of Plenty Times·
7 Aug, 2016 05:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Jade Hurford is searching for the young boy she rescued from Tauranga Harbour.

A Tauranga woman did not stop to think about the dangers of the cold water or swift current when she dived in to save a young boy on a bike who veered off a walkway and in to the estuary.

Jade Hurford was walking along the Waikareao Estuary towards 11th Ave with her son on Saturday when she saw a young boy, possibly 4 or 5, hurtling downhill on his bike.

"The little man came down off the bridge and his bike veered to the right and he went straight into the water," Ms Hurford said.

"I started running as soon as I saw him heading towards the water. His mum was still on the bridge."

Jade and Blair Hurford. Photo/George Novak
Jade and Blair Hurford. Photo/George Novak
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Miss Hurford jumped into the water.

"I grabbed him from behind. He was quite heavy because he was fully clothed, with a helmet, jacket, camo pants and high-top shoes.

"I didn't realise how swift the current was. I was thinking I've got to be quick to get him out or we're both going to go.

"Another woman was on the rocks. She grabbed him off me. She was struggling to lift him up.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It took the three of us to pull him out."

She remembered seeing the boy's head bobbing in the water.

"He was kicking himself to try and keep up, but I could tell he was struggling. He probably bobbed up and down four or five times before I managed to get in the water. He was going down so only his helmet was visible."

Miss Hurford said she, the other woman and the boy's mother started stripping the wet clothes off him to help him warm up.

Discover more

Man plucked from Tauranga Harbour

19 Sep 05:00 AM

"I helped the mum, who was very distressed, and the boy who, by then, had realised he had a close call.

"He did seem okay, he was quite responsive. I don't think he took on too much water."

The other woman at the scene managed to get the boy's bike out of the water, even though the mother was telling her not to worry about it.

Miss Hurford gave the mum a hug and was thanked profusely.

The mum called her partner and the duo were quickly collected. Miss Hurford, also cold and wet, moved on without thinking of grabbing any contact details.

She is now hoping to track down the mother and son to see how they were doing and give them both a big hug.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

All she knew was that the boy was "a cute wee guy" called Charlie, he had dark brown hair and was aged about 5 or 6.

"I'm so glad we managed to get him out. If it was just him and his mum, I don't think there would have been such a good outcome.

"At the end of the day, anyone would have done it."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Motified': BoP Harbourmaster acts to prevent another Rena disaster

03 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Bay of Plenty TimesUpdated

Appeal withdrawn over unlawful removal of Te Urewera huts

03 Jul 05:00 PM
live
Bay of Plenty Times

Hail, storms hit North Island as emergency extends in flood-hit areas

03 Jul 05:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Motified': BoP Harbourmaster acts to prevent another Rena disaster

'Motified': BoP Harbourmaster acts to prevent another Rena disaster

03 Jul 06:00 PM

He has banned large vessels from using the gap between Astrolabe Reef and Mōtītī Island.

Premium
Appeal withdrawn over unlawful removal of Te Urewera huts

Appeal withdrawn over unlawful removal of Te Urewera huts

03 Jul 05:00 PM
Hail, storms hit North Island as emergency extends in flood-hit areas
live

Hail, storms hit North Island as emergency extends in flood-hit areas

03 Jul 05:00 PM
'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

03 Jul 08:00 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP