'It's lucky I had my flat shoes on!': British angel who ran to save baby girl plunging from fourth-floor Florida hotel balcony



Child's mother: 'That lady was an angel sent from Heaven'

On her daughter: 'She's perfectly fine. Not a scratch on her body'

Hero Helen Beard awarded Orange County Medal of Merit

Award: Briton Helen Beard arrived in America as a tourist and will leave a heroine

She went to the U.S. as a holidaymaker but will return to Britain as a hero after catching a baby girl who was plummeting from a fourth-floor hotel balcony.

And today Helen Beard, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, was honoured for her actions by being awarded the Orange County Sheriff Office's Medal of Merit.

The 44-year-old was on holiday with her husband and two children in Orlando, Florida, when 16-month-old Jah-Nea Myles fell through the railings.

Miss Beard rushed to save the infant when she spotted her dangling from the balcony railings at the hotel.

Despite the heroic act Miss Beard said she didn’t consider herself a hero.



'It feels a bit daunting to be here for something that was instinctive,' she said as she accepted her award from Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demming.

'It felt like it was something anyone would have done and I feel honoured to be recognised in this way.'

The little girl hit the third-floor railing on the way down, but miraculously survived without so much as a bruise. She was even described as 'playful' afterwards.

'It was a very surreal event,' Miss Beard said. 'Luckily I had my flat shoes on and I managed to run over and catch her as she lost her grip.

Plunge: Arrow shows the distance the baby fell from the balcony of the hotel

Narrow escape: Jah-Nea Myles fell from the fourth-floor balcony of this Florida hotel - into the arms of British tourist Helen Beard

'It all happened so quickly. And I just sat with her and tried to calm her down. Everyone was panicking around me because it was very hectic.'

The baby's 20-year-old mother, Helena, said: 'I'm thanking the Lord above right now for saving my child's life. I'm also thanking that lady because she was an angel sent from Heaven.'

Eye witness Kristell Friesen said: 'We heard everybody screaming and just thought they were having a good time at the pool, and they all started running toward the first floor on the ground.

Miss Beard receives a Medal of Merit from Orange County Sheriff Jerry Dennings in Orlando, Florida

Modest: Miss Beard answers questions and explains how she caught the tot after noticing it hanging from a fourth floor balcony Mother's instinct: Miss Beard with her partner Philip Charlesworth and their son Ben

'This woman was right under the balcony, held out her arms and caught her. Everyone was just happy.

'The girl's mum came racing out of the hotel and was just so grateful. Everyone was praying for her .'

Another guest said: 'This woman was just so calm and in the perfect spot. She caught her, but the baby seemed to bounce out her arms and slipped to the floor. She picked her up an held her until her mother came running over.'

Terror: This hotel guest heard a lot of screaming and said 'You knew something was wrong'

The toddler is thought to have squeezed through an open balcony door and then pushed her head through the protective railings before plunging head first to the ground below.



A spokesman for Orange County Sheriff's Office described it simply as 'a miracle.'

Jah-Nea's narrow escape happened late on Wednesday night, when she was being looked after by her mother's friend Dominique Holt in an adjoining room at the Econo Lodge Hotel in Orlando.

Miss Holt, who admitted the door may have been left open a crack, said Jah-Nea must have crept out when she went to use the bathroom, then managed to slip through railings on the balcony.

Miss Beard, 44, told deputies she was by the pool at around 11pm when she looked up and saw a child hanging from the fourth-floor railing.

She ran underneath the child in the hope of saving her and watched as Jah-Nea fell, hitting the third-floor railing on the way down.

As other tourists screamed, Miss Beard held out her arms and caught the little girl.



According to Reuters, Jah-Nea slipped out of her arms and hit the ground, but then Miss Beard picked her up and held her until paramedics arrived.

Meanwhile the child's mother heard screaming and rushed out to the balcony. She looked down to see her daughter in Miss Beard's arms.

Where she fell: The girl's mother heard the screams and ran out of the bathroom to find the door on to the balcony was slightly ajar

Big drop: Eyewitnesses said Miss Beard was surprisingly calm following the drama at the Econolodge Hotel, in Orlando, Florida

Jah-Nea and her mother live in Longwood, Florida, but they were staying at the hotel on holiday with friends

Miss Beard was very modest about her life saving heroics and was grateful the girl did not suffer any injuries.

'She really did not like all the attention with so people congratulating her,' said a hotel worker.

'To be honest she seemed a little embarrassed by it all.'

Like thousands of other British tourists, Miss Beard is spending the Easter holidays in Orlando with her partner and two children.

Denise Rollins, a spokesman for Orange County Sheriff's Office, said Jah-Nea was 'playful' after the fall, and was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital as a precaution. The child's mother said: 'She's perfectly fine. Not a scratch on her body.'

Jah-Nea and her mother live in Longwood, Florida, but they were staying at the hotel on holiday. They were joined by Miss Holt, a friend from North Carolina, who was staying in the room next door with a friend.

But Mrs Myles said she wasn't blaming her. She said: 'I'm not upset with anyone. I've had it out with my friends. But other than that, I'm thanking God right now that my child's here.'



The Florida Department of Children and Families are investigating, but no criminal charges were pending in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

