TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

The girl stranded on a small island in the Kern River had no means of making it back to land without being swept away by the current. She was scratched, bruised and scared.

Bakersfield police Officer Andrew Ferguson couldn't see the 12-year-old from where he was standing, but people near the water's edge pointed toward her location, he said. Ferguson took off his shirt and vest and ran through the trees until he saw the island about 15 feet from land.

He entered the river and within a few steps was chest-deep in the water. The current knocked him down, but he pushed himself up and powered forward.

Ferguson saw that the girl's swimsuit was torn and her teeth were chattering, he said. He wasn't sure how seriously she was injured. But then she spoke.

"Are you a policeman?" she asked.

Ferguson said he was.

"Don't tell my mom," the officer recalls her saying.

Ferguson smiled. He realized she was probably going to be all right if she was so worried about her mother's reaction while still in the middle of the river.

He grabbed her with one arm and held her tightly against his side, using his other arm to pull through the water. Ferguson then handed her off to a man in knee-high water and safely made it to land himself.

The Kern River wouldn't claim a victim this day.

Guardian angels

The call came in about 6 p.m. Wednesday, a report of a girl in the canal north of Sam Lynn Ball Park. Officers Nathan Anderberg and Ferguson were closest to the area and the first on scene.

They quickly discovered the girl wasn't in the canal, but that she and a 13-year-old girl had been swimming in the river, Ferguson said. Anderberg drove along bike paths and made it to the teens' location in just a few minutes. They had decided Ferguson would go in the water, and he had already removed his gun belt in the car in preparation.

The 13-year-old had been rescued by a woman in the area, and a small crowd had formed along both sides of the river because of the commotion, Ferguson said.

Anderberg, 34, helped direct other emergency responders to the scene and kept a close eye on Ferguson's progress to the island, which wasn't much more than some brush and dirt sticking up from the water.

"If both of us went in the river and got in trouble we'd be no help to (the 12-year-old)," Anderberg said.

Ferguson, 39, said by no means is he a strong swimmer. He struggled against the current, but he said he didn't think much about anything at the time other than getting to the 12-year-old.

Both officers said they felt relieved when the 12-year-old was back on land. Anderberg said an officer's job often involves reacting to grim circumstances, but in this case no one died or suffered serious injury.

"This time it worked out for everyone," he said.

Ferguson said he hopes this incident serves as a reminder to stay out of the river, where more than 240 people have drowned since 1968.

As for the 12-year-old's mother, she was just happy her daughter was OK, Ferguson said. He said he told her there was no need for punishment, because after this experience those two girls won't be getting back in the river.

The 12-year-old understood how badly everything could have turned out. In fact, she seemed to put Anderberg and Ferguson on par with divine intervention.

Ferguson recalls she said, "This is what my mom means when she says guardian angels are working overtime for me."