Sheriff’s deputies save infant with CPR at mall, visit baby in ICU

A little girl has three guardian angels in the form of sheriff’s deputies after the  first responders answered an emergency call at their local mall.

It all happened Sept. 30.

Audrey Harmon was only one week old. She was at the JCPenney portrait studio when she stopped breathing, officials at the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said.

Sheriff’s deputies Zacharkiw, Olsen and Russell ran through the mall when they got the call. When they got to the studio, they found Audrey pale and unresponsive. Her mother had called 911 while her father and other good Samaritans tried CPR on the little girl.

Believing she had choked on fluids, Zacharkiw performed chest compressions. Olsen checked her airway as Russel stabilized her little head, keeping her airway open. Then Zacharkiw turned the baby over, and using a burping pat, removed fluid from her airway. He then flipped her over and used a bulbous nose sucker to remove fluid from Audrey's nose.

She was taken to Oregon Health & Science University, where she was admitted to intensive care. A week after their heroic acts, Zacharkiw, Olsen and Russell were invited to her hospital room by Audrey's parents, Kaylob Harmon and Jessie Siefer, to visit the little girl.

>> Read more trending news

>> Need something to lift your spirits? Read more uplifting news

The deputies were told that the EEG leads had been removed from Audrey's head just after their visit, as she recovered from her ordeal.

Credit: Clackamas County Sheriff's Office/Facebook

Credit: Clackamas County Sheriff's Office/Facebook

About the Author