A 16-year-old lifeguard whose dramatic rescue of a 10-year-old boy in Santa Cruz drew widespread attention online has shared his account of the frightening moments for the first time in a statement released Wednesday.
Ryder Williams, the teenage lifeguard praised for holding onto the child through powerful surf at Santa Cruz Beach on Saturday, described the rescue in detail through a statement issued by his employer, California State Parks.
Williams said he was standing near the shoreline about 15 yards downcoast from Tower 2, speaking with someone about safety, when he noticed a child roughly 20 yards up from the tower suddenly lose balance in ankle-deep water.
Sixteen-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams was seen being battered by large waves as he clung to a child pulled into hazardous surf in Santa Cruz, California, on July 25, 2026. (Scott Vander Dussen/Instagram @Santacruznow)
He said he immediately called the situation in over the radio, tossed his radio and sunglasses near the base of the lifeguard tower, and sprinted toward the boy. Williams explained that he slipped his fins onto his wrist, released his rescue buoy and entered the water to reach the child. Because the ocean was so unstable, he said he could not secure the boy on the rescue tube. After the first wave hit, Williams said he was unable to pull him free because the child had gone limp and the force of the surf was overwhelming. Two or three more waves followed before fellow lifeguard Aaron Bohnen entered the water to assist. Williams added that several bystanders tried to jump in to help, but he shouted for them to return to shore for their own safety.
After Williams and Bohnen managed to get the child back onto the sand, Williams said he was directed to retrieve the medical bag from Bohnen’s unit so they could assess the boy. Not long after the rescue, he returned to his lifeguard tower and continued working the remainder of his shift.
Williams said he was thankful he could help reunite the child safely with his family, adding that lifeguarding is the work he loves. He also credited his fellow lifeguards, noting that they carry out rescues like this on a regular basis.
Witnesses said the intense Santa Cruz rescue went on much longer than the viral clip captured, with the teenage lifeguard refusing to let go of the child as heavy waves crashed over them. (Scott Vander Dussen/Instagram @Santacruznow)
Williams’ heroics earned him national attention, praise and even an invitation to the White House.
“We’re going to bring this heroic young man, and his family, into the White House with, perhaps, the boy he saved, to give him a High Civilian Honor. Very brave, he deserves it!” the White House wrote in an X post attributed to President Donald Trump.
Williams’ rescue was one of 34 rescues in the Santa Cruz district over the weekend, California State Parks said in a statement obtained by FOX 2 KTVU.
“All California State Park lifeguard towers were staffed, there were 6 units on, a two-person rescue water craft team, three permanent lifeguard units, and a lifeguard supervisor working in Pajaro Coast,” California State Parks also said of the weekend.
Witnesses say the dramatic rescue lasted far longer than the viral video shows, with Ryder Williams refusing to release the child despite punishing surf. (Scott Vander Dussen/Instagram @Santacruznow)
The 10-year-old boy Williams rescued was identified by KTVU as being named Nathaniel. His father, Sumit Rai, praised Williams’ efforts in an interview with KTVU.
“It was a remarkable effort to bring him back to shore. I mean Ryder fought the sea,” he told the outlet.
“It’s really hard to fight that, and my son was unconscious. He weighs about 100 pounds, and he was limp, so that’s basically dead weight that he had to carry and hold onto to pull back to shore,” he continued.
“It’s so easy to let go, and he knew that if he lets go then he’s gonna basically just float away, and he’s gone. That’s the end of it, and he would have died,” Rai concluded.
INC News contacted California State Parks for comment and additional information.
