Thanks to a quick thinking and selfless mother, two-year-old Kayla Tyler of Howard is walking and talking today — and doing it on dry land.

Little Kayla fell into a hand-dug well last Thursday, April 24, while playing on a vacant lot, or field, near her home. A concrete lid on the well apparently tipped from the child’s weight and she fell several feet to the water which was very deep.

Her mother, Marlana Wright, was with Kayla but did not see what happened She turned around, saw the tipped concrete lid and noticed her daughter was gone.

Marlana ran to the well, tossed the concrete lid like it was styrofoam and peered into the hole.
She saw Kayla lying on her back splashing around and treading water. Marlana hesitated to jump in initially, concerned that her fall would push Kayla under water. Kayla was going under at times, but was bobbing back to the surface.

Then Marlana saw a pipe positioned at the side of the well Marlana took her chance and jumped in. Kayla was pushed under by the impact but bobbed to the surface and Marlana grabbed her.

The mother felt Kayla was not breathing at that point and she was able to get Kayla to get rid of the water in her lungs and to breathe again.

What Marlana and Kayla needed right then was a rope, and it just so happened that a cowboy, J.B. Cannon, was riding his horse in the area and he galloped over and provided his lariat rope to drop down and pull first Kayla up, and then Marlana.

Marlana later admitted that she is afraid of water and dark places. But a mother’s love is more fierce than her fear. A hero is someone who goes ahead in spite of their fear and Marlana is a hero.

Kayla’s daddy, Billy Tyler, filled in the well the next day.

Information for this story came from Gloria Jones-Wolf and members of the Elk County Forum.