Watch Gov. Murphy Thank Middletown Teens For Ice Rescue

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — "Hello, Mr. Governor."

That was what Ryan Day, a 15-year-old freshman at Middletown High School North, said Wednesday, when Gov. Phil Murphy called him and his four buddies to personally thank them for saving two young Middletown children who sledded onto a frozen pond last week.

Murphy called the five Middletown teen boys "heroes."

"Congratulations, men! Holy cow!" exclaimed Murphy on the call. "You're heroes, man! What an incredible story and how brave you guys are and how prepared you were and just so impressed. On behalf of your nine-million-member New Jersey family, I salute you and nothing but respect."=

The boys said "thank you very much" in unison. Watch:

Mother Stephanie Heid, whose children were rescued, told Patch she was "thrilled" to see the boys get the recognition.

"What better way then a call from our state's highest elected official?!" said Heid. "Way to go, boys! We are ALL so proud of you!"

Murphy also talked about the boys in his daily press conference Wednesday, calling them "five extraordinary young men from my neck of the woods, in Middletown ... this posse by the way, includes some proud Boy Scouts. They deserve every bit of the now-national coverage that they are receiving." He talks about the boys about mid-way through:

In a story that skyrocketed to national attention, the five Middletown teens went into a frozen pond last Thursday, and pulled two young children to safety. The 8-year-old girl, Olivia Heid, and her brother, 4, RJ, had accidentally hit a patch of ice while sledding and shot right onto the pond at Beacon Hill Country Club in Leonardo. The ice broke and their blow-up sled was sinking.

The children's parents, Stephanie and Rich Heid, raced down the hill, but Kieran Foley, 14, Joseph Dietrich, 14, Drew Scalice, 14, Tyler Armagan, 14 and Day jumped into action. Foley jumped into the water, getting his boots sucked off in the process, and his friends formed a human chain to carry the little ones to shore.

Foley and Scalice are members of Middletown Boy Scout Troop 47 and they credited their Boy Scout training with knowing immediately what to do.

All the boys and the Heid children live in Middletown, as does, coincidentally, Gov. Murphy.

The story has been picked up nationally, with the teens being interviewed on "Good Morning America" and CNN and appearing in the Associated Press and front page of the New York Post. "Good Morning America" called the story "a holiday miracle" akin to the ice rescue scene in "It's A Wonderful Life." Watch:

Original Patch report: Middletown Teens Save Children Who Sledded Into Frozen Pond