Oregon - Freak Wave takes 6 yr old and Uncle

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Uncle died trying to save 6-year-old nephew at beach

World Photo by Lou Sennick
The waters of the Pacific Ocean and Simpson Beach are calm Wednesday morning, a change from the large waves this past weekend. Craig Leone, 6, and his Uncle Roy Tyler were swept off their feet by a pair of rogue waves Saturday.

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Funeral planned for lost boy, uncle COOS BAY — For seconds at a time, when her tears dried, it seemed like Craig would rush through the door any minute. A smile on the first-grader’s face after another long day at Blossom Gulch Elementary.

Angie Leone poured through recent photos at a kitchen table, in a home she shares with her mother. She pointed out her 6-year-old “Craigy” on a dune buggy, among plump little pumpkins at a local pumpkin patch, dancing at her sister’s wedding.

The beach

On Saturday afternoon, a freak sneaker wave swiped Craig and his uncle, Roy Tyler, off rocks at Simpson Beach, south of Charleston. Minutes later, the sea spit the boy back out, but he died on his way to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. His little heart gave out. Tyler, 39, remains missing.

“He was born early in this world and he was taken away early. I don’t think it’s fair, but it was God’s choice,” Leone said Wednesday.

About two months ago, Leone and Craig moved from Wasilla, Alaska to be with her mother, Doris Jeffries. Together, the 46-year-old and her youngest son, her miracle baby, made memories only she alone can cherish.

Craig was born prematurely when Leone was 40, and she couldn’t hold him for the first two weeks of his life.

“He was my joy, he was a part of me. He still is.”

On Saturday, Leone, her sister Robin Tyler, 47, Roy Tyler and Craig went to the beach at Shore Acres State Park to play in the tidepools and look for shells. As they headed back toward the trail to go home, two waves struck the family.

After the first, Leone grabbed hold of her son. But a second wave smashed her into a rock.

“I didn’t realize I had let go of Craig until it receded, because I was holding onto him for dear life,” Leone said. “That’s when I said ‘Grab Craig! Grab Craig! He’s right there. He’s right there.’”

Roy Tyler pushed Robin, his wife of less than a month, toward the beach. A woman in black, Jennifer Heacock, helped Leone off the rocks, as the ocean swept away the man and boy.

“By the time I reached Robin I couldn’t see their heads anymore,” Leone said.

Bend residents Bryce Robertson, his girlfriend, Heacock, and her mother, Angie, were out at the beach when they saw the waves strike.

“It was horrifying. It looked like they were sliding down a waterfall,” Robertson said. “The water was just so powerful and moving so fast that it pulled them out.”

Angie Heacock tried to call 911, but with no cell phone reception her daughter had to hike up to the Shore Acres gift shop for help. Meanwhile, she and Robertson watched the shoreline with the family.

What seemed like 10 or 15 minutes later, Leone heard Angie Heacock scream — “Oh my god, there’s the boy! There’s the boy!”

Craig was on the other side of the beach.

He was shirtless and blue in the face. Robertson administered CPR while Leone tried to give him direction. They worked on the boy for 10 minutes as they waited for the U.S. Coast Guard, EMTs, or any other emergency responders to arrive.

“I kept calling out Craigy’s name. I never gave up,” Leone said.

Robertson said he only stopped to direct paramedics to the scene. A Coast Guard helicopter airlifted Craig, who was taken the Bay Area Hospital, while others continued to look for Roy. Bruised and battered, Leone and her sister went to the hospital. Leone, who was hypothermic, pushed away medical help so she could stay with Craig.

“I held his hand the whole time,” Leone said. “I didn’t want to be cared for until my baby was taken care of.”

There wasn’t enough room for Leone to accompany her son on his flight to Portland.

Hospital staff cleaned her bleeding feet and she waited for news with her sister and priest. They eventually went home, but didn’t go inside the house, still decorated for Halloween.

“They brought me the phone while I was sitting with Father Karl,” Leone said. “That’s when the doctor told me that Craigy’s little heart gave out on the way.”