TEXAS CITY, Texas In 19 years in law enforcement, Cpl. Neal Mora said he s never been involved in a life and death situation. But during a weekend outing with friends and family, the Texas City police officer came close to losing his own life while rescuing the son of a fellow officer.
Mora and his wife, Polly, were at a house along the Guadalupe River outside San Marcos with their friends, including Paul Edinburgh, his wife, Kelly, and their children.
After spending a day riding tubes along the river, the group decided to stick around the river house and set up an inflatable raft and water slide.
Paul Edinburgh Jr., 7, was swimming with Mora s nephew Blake Villarreal, 11, when they were pulled away from the raft by a stronger-than-expected current.
While both boys are strong swimmers, Edinburgh was unable to get back to the raft.
He just happened to be in that current, Mora said.
Kelly Edinburgh said: We had been watching people all day, and it looked like they were barely moving down the river.
As the boy yelled for help, Mora jumped into the water. By the time he reached the boy, both were far from shore and moving away from the raft.
Mora grabbed the young boy but struggled to make it back to shore.
Neal started yelling, Help! said Kelly Edinburgh, who also had jumped in and found herself struggling to stay afloat. I started yelling for help.
Mora s wife also went into the water to help.
People on shore tossed a tethered float at Mora, who still had hold of his friends son. Eventually both were pulled to shore.
While it was a scary moment, the younger Edinburgh was soon back to playing in the water albeit while wearing a life jacket and enjoyed the rest of the weekend by shooting all comers with water guns.
The near tragedy gave two police veterans a different perspective.
It really did change how I view things, Paul Edinburgh, a Texas City police detective, said. It s an event like this that causes you to do a lot of reflection. You appreciate the things you have.
I mean, I almost lost my son and wife before my eyes. Since then, it s been a huge impact on me and how I look at things. I don t stress out over things that are small things.
Mora said he has had a tough time shaking the memories of that day.
My wife and I talked a lot about what happened, and, like Paul, I ve got a different perspective on life, Mora said. It definitely makes you look at everything differently.
All involved had their worlds shaken again about a week later when twin 9-year-old girls from Houston and their father drowned at the Texas City Dike.
All of those things we went through just came rushing back, Kelly Edinburgh said. The episode still was tough for the Edinburghs and Mora to talk about two weeks ago when Mora was given an award for his heroic efforts. Paul Edinburgh broke down in tears as he thanked Mora publicly.
On the same day Mora was given his recognition, police officers Sal Chapa and Brian Berg were honored for their attempts to rescue the Suarez sisters and their father, Hector, from the strong undertow at Texas City Dike beach.
Chapa ran into the water to pull the family from the water while Berg performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on one of the girls as she was rushed to the hospital.
The award, presented to Mora by Texas City Police Chief Robert Burby, was important for Paul and Kelly.
It gave our family closure, Paul said. He doesn t think he needed to be thanked for anything, but we do, because he saved our son.
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