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After 16 Hours Alone in Her Yard, Elderly Woman Gets Help From Two Caring Teens

July 06, 2026

After 16 Hours Alone in Her Yard, Elderly Woman Gets Help From Two Caring Teens

After 16 hours alone in her yard, an elderly woman gets help from two caring teens. What began with a Pop-Tart, a FaceTime call, and plans for an ordinary summer morning became a life-saving act of kindness neither boy will ever forget.

Summer has a way of slowing life down. Kids sleep in, ride bikes with their best friends, and spend their days chasing adventure instead of a schedule. But sometimes, the ordinary moments become the ones God uses in extraordinary ways. That’s how best friends Gunner Skidmore and Kohen Chick in Fruitland, Iowa, became angels in disguise. 

The Two Teens Were Out Having Fun When They Found the Woman

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The two were headed toward Muscatine along 57th Street South, laughing and enjoying another carefree summer morning, when something caught Kohen's eye.

"I went to the trail, and Kohen was like, 'You see that lady back there?' I was like, 'No,'" Gunner said. "Then, we went back and looked, and it took a little while to find her." Hidden from view was an elderly woman lying on the ground.

"I said, 'Hey ma'am, are you OK?' She was like, 'Yeah, I need help. Call 911," Gunner recalled.

They knew she needed help, but they were unsure what to do. So, the boys called Gunner's mom, who hurried to the scene and immediately called 911. The woman had been trapped outside for more than 16 hours.

Teens Save Elderly Woman

The woman told the boys she had been lying there since 5 p.m. the evening before. She had apparently fallen while feeding her horse and, in a desperate attempt to be seen, had rolled from the backyard toward the front of her property.

"She was like scared. You could just tell because like her face, she was covered in all these bugs and stuff," Kohen said.

The boys believe they found her just in time. "A few more hours and she definitely like wouldn't have made it," Gunner said. The woman was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Muscatine, where she is receiving medical care.

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But the story didn't end when the ambulance pulled away. While the woman recovers, Gunner's mom has stayed in touch with her family, making sure her horse has food and water. She's even planning to make a homemade lasagna to welcome her neighbor home.

Sometimes loving your neighbor looks like stopping your bike to ask a simple question. Sometimes it looks like calling 911. And sometimes it looks like feeding someone's horse and showing up with dinner after the crisis has passed. Because compassion isn't just found in the heroic moments. It's found in the quiet ones that follow.

"Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."  1 John 3:18

WATCH: After 16 Hours Alone in Her Yard, Elderly Woman Gets Help From Two Caring Teens

LISTEN: A Reunion at a Hospital of NICU Families and Care Teams | Dolly Parton Gives Update on Her Health and Life After Husband's Passing

h/t: KWQC News

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/KWQC News


Heather Riggleman is a believer, wife, mom, author, social media consultant, and full-time writer. She lives in Minden, Nebraska with her kids, high school sweetheart, and three cats who are her entourage around the homestead. She is a former award-winning journalist with over 2,000 articles published. She is full of grace and grit, raw honesty, and truly believes tacos can solve just about any situation. You can find her on GodUpdates, iBelieve, Crosswalk, Hello Darling, Focus On The Family, and in Brio Magazine. Connect with her at www.HeatherRiggleman.com or on Facebook.  

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