ARLINGTON, Texas — Good Samaritans are credited with saving the life of a young autistic man early Tuesday morning after he became separated from his father and got lost deep inside an Arlington park.
“A little tired, but happy,” Tim Gundlach said after he joined the successful search for his nephew Jacob Bates. “We’re really blessed.”
Bates, 25, and his father were cycling on the mountain bike trails at River Legacy Park in Arlington Monday evening: Scot Bates in the lead with his son Jacob following him.
“And he just took his eyes off of him for 30 seconds,” Gundlach says.
Unable to find Jacob in the miles of trails that wind along the East Fork of the Trinity River, Bates called for help to find his son. Arlington Police responded, but their search came up empty.
But Arlington resident David Dedwylder saw the Facebook post by Arlington Police and sought out a drone operator who might be able to help. Chance Sauser from Anna responded. They met Scot Bates and his brother Tim Gundlach at River Legacy Park. Sauser’s drone, equipped with a thermal imaging camera, located Jacob in a far western, wooded corner of the park. He was standing alone, shivering, but he was alive.
Gundlach and his brother found a dirt road closest to his location. But they were blocked by a chain link fence topped with barbed wire. Gundlach took bolt cutters from his truck and cut a hole in the chain link big enough for them to squeeze through.
“We followed the drone. He put us right over. We were yelling. And then when he (Jacob) yelled back, we knew he was gonna be OK,” Gundlach said.
By then, it was 5:30 a.m., and Jacob had been in the near-freezing elements for several hours. He was taken to a local hospital as a precaution, treated for potential hypothermia, and released late Tuesday morning with a clean bill of health.
“We’re thankful to the Arlington PD,” Gundlach said. “And we’re thankful for these two guys who don’t know us,” he said of the Good Samaritans. “It’s easy to get jaded about this world, but there’s some good people out there still.”
“If they wouldn’t out of the kindness of their heart, if they wouldn’t both gotten involved it likely would have been a very different outcome today,” he said. “And we’re just thankful and we want to get the word out there to thank these guys David and Chance, and also to spread a little hope that there’s some good people still.”
“Some people may end up on their deathbed one day, looking back at their life, wondering if they made a difference. You guys will never have to wonder.”
And yes, Tim Gundlach apologized for damaging the fence and says he is willing to pay to get it repaired. Being able to help rescue his nephew is worth every penny.