3-Year-Old Fell 15 Feet into a Waterfall and Then Good Samaritan Stepped in, Mom Says

Yahoo

26-05-2025

Kiya Livingston's 3-year-old daughter Melody fell about 15 feet into a waterfall in Arkansas on May 20
Fortunately, a man later pulled Melody out of the water and the child suffered no major injuries
'She was thankfully fully wedged between a rock that held her underwater, held her in place, where he was able to scoop her up," Livingston said
A mother credited a good Samaritan for saving her 3-year-old daughter's life after the child fell into an Arkansas waterfall last week.
Kiya Livingston and her child Melody were visiting the Tanyard Creek Nature Trail in Bella Vista on Tuesday, May 20, to hike and swim, CBS affiliate KFSM and ABC affiliate KHBS reported.
"I was sitting on the rocks; she was standing on the bridge with her friends," Livingston told KFSM. "They were throwing in rocks, and we told her not to get too close. Then somehow, she just stuck her foot in there, and she was gone."
Melody reportedly fell almost 15 feet into the water.
"I saw her purple outfit and I saw a hand in the air, so my first thing was to just get in there," Livingston remembered, per KHBS. "She was over the waterfall, and she flew from the top to the bottom so I had to get out of the water and try to run the best that I could to the bottom to find somewhere to catch her."
The mother further told KHBS that several people offered to help in the rescue effort.
"We were just trying to find out where we could find her in the water, to pull her out,' Livingston recalled, 'because the current was so strong."
When she and her sister made it to the bottom, Livingston found that a good Samaritan had pulled Melody out of the water.
"The man that saved her had already jumped in and they said that she didn't end up having to get CPR,' Livingston told KFSM. 'She was thankfully fully wedged between a rock that held her underwater, held her in place, where he was able to scoop her up."
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Fortunately, Melody did not sustain any serious injuries in the fall, and came away unscathed aside from a few scratches, which her mother described as a miracle. A doctor told Livingston that Melody's small size helped her survive the ordeal.
"I couldn't have lost her," Livingston said, per KHBS. "She fought and I keep telling her, thank you for fighting to be with me, because if she wouldn't have fought, she wouldn't have made it."
Livingston also thanked the good Samaritan for his heroic actions.
"He saved my daughter's life,' the mother told KFSM. 'So anything that we can do, if we can just say, thank you."
PEOPLE contacted Livingston and the Bella Vista Police Department for additional information on Monday, May 26.
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