Brandon Leseberg, a farmer and cattle producer from Rock Port, Missouri has an incredible story to tell after free falling into a 70ft well to save his son.
Brandon was doing work on the farm with his two boys Louie, who is six years old, and Everett, who is three years old when they were about wrapped up for the day and closing the gate to head home.
As they were leaving, his boys stopped by the water spigot beside the well like they have done many times before to get a drink. However, when Brandon looked back to check on them he noticed his six-year-old child had vanished.
He ran over to his youngest son and asked what happened. Everett said his brother fell into a hole. Without thinking, Brandon jumped down into the well and free fell almost all the way to the bottom before a voice in his head told him to reach out and grab something.
Brandon told Farm Journal, “I didn’t think. I just ran over to that hole that looked not much bigger than a basketball, and I didn’t see anything, and I couldn’t hear anything for a couple more seconds. And then I heard a splash and some gasping. And there was no thinking; I jumped.”
Fortunately, he grabbed onto a water pump pipe and he was able to catch himself before falling onto his son and seriously hurting him. He was just high enough to be out of the water and also low enough to grab his son out of the water and pull him up onto his chest.
“I still had ahold of that pipe, and I just braced both my back and my feet up there and then grabbed Louie and put him on my chest, because the water – we never took the temp on it – I’m sure it was close to 50 degrees if not colder, and he was already shivering,” Brandon said.
Realizing he was trapped and probably not able to hold this position for too long, he did the only thing he could think to do. He called up to his three-year-old son and asked him to be a big boy and go get help.
“I just told Everett he was going to have to be a big boy and run out and stand by the mailbox until somebody drove by. And be a big boy for us, I told him. You’re going to have to save us,” Brandon said.
Everett did exactly as his father said and stayed out of the road but stood by the mailbox. Moments later, the neighbors Christi and her husband, Mark spotted the three-year-old and pulled up in their truck to see what he was doing out there. He told them that his dad fell into a hole.
Christi recalled her interaction with the three-year-old, “And I said, ‘Okay, show me where he’s at?’ And he pointed down in that well. And then I yelled at Mark.”
Mark added, “I just jumped out of the pickup and called 911.”
As Mark explained the situation to the police on the phone, Christi called neighbors who quickly came to their aid. They ended up using a barn rope that was 80-feet long and pulled Louie up first. After that, they were able to pull Brandon up and he collapsed with exhaustion from holding himself and Louie up out of the water for so long.
He and the neighbors said they believe it was the work of God and angels that kept them from getting seriously injured. They both made out just fine and not even a scratch.
They were just grateful to be alive. A news crew drove out to the farm and filmed an interview with Brandon, his sons, and those that worked together to rescue them. Check out the video below!