Photo Provided - The Do family members of Michigan pose with Ace Ongley of Shadyside, third from left, at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Ace saved the baby being held by her mother from drowning.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Times Leader presents a look back at the past year today through Friday with Eastern Ohio’s Top 10 stories of 2021, as selected by the newspaper’s editorial staff.

SHADYSIDE — Ace Ongley made his family and his hometown proud while vacationing this past summer, acting quickly to save another child from drowning.

The 9-year-old Shadyside boy was hailed as a hero after he saved a 1-year-old girl from the water while he and his family were on vacation at the beach. Ongley was simply enjoying the summer sun when he noticed a familiar hat floating in the ocean at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. The hat belonged to a baby he had seen a few hours before, so he set out to retrieve it and return it to her family. When Ace reached in to pull the hat from the water, though, he suddenly realized there was a baby underneath and quickly pulled her out of the water and brought her ashore.

The girl’s family was alerted along with lifeguards and emergency responders. CPR was performed on the child at the scene. The baby was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and later released in good health.

Jillian Ongley, Ace’s mother, said her son found the little girl just in time. Although she initially was unresponsive, she vomited shortly after being pulled from the water — a good sign, she said. The Ongleys alerted the girl’s family, who had set up on the beach near them, and then ran to retrieve a lifeguard and contact emergency responders.

She said the girl’s family members were in a panic and horrified that they had no idea how the baby had gotten into the water. She said they were extremely grateful for Ace’s quick response and heroic action in rescuing the baby.

Once the girl received medical treatment at the hospital, Ongley said the Do family contacted them and asked to meet up the following day to express their gratitude.

“They were so thankful — they wouldn’t stop hugging him (Ace),” Jillian Ongley said through tears while recalling the meeting. “They said that he might not understand what he did now, but he will when he is older and the impact that he’s had on their family and saving their little girl. It was an emotional day.”

Being the oldest of five, his mother said, Ace has always been a good big brother to his siblings who range in age from 11 months to 8 years old. She said Ace is always very aware of his surroundings, which she thinks led him to discover the little girl underneath the floppy hat.

She credits a “higher power” for bringing them all to the beach that day.

“We just know God put him (Ace) there for a reason. As a 9-year-old, Ace saved the baby, and who knows how many more seconds she had and it could have had a not so happy ending. … We’re just glad we were there,” she added.

Ongley said although she does not know a lot about the Do family of Michigan — not even their first names or their hometown — she hopes to keep in touch with the family of the little girl and to plan a visit in the future. She said she and her husband want Ace to see the 1-year-old grow up and witness the life he helped save.

In addition to the praise he received from his own family and the Do family, Ace later was congratulated and honored by Shadyside Village Council after word of his heroic deed reached his hometown.