HRM employee humbled by hero status

Everyone loves a hero and for a Beaver Bank mom, David Booker is hers.

On a cold morning last March, a young girl ran from her Beaver Bank home wearing nothing but a nightgown and a pair of slippers. It was cold and damp and her mother became frantic. Her husband had already left for work so she was all alone. She threw on her jacket and boots, jumped in her car and started driving down the road toward where her daughter had ran.

Although there are some other houses around theirs, the area is mostly surrounded by woods.

"We had argued that morning because she didn't want to go to school," said the mother, who asked not to be named. "Usually she is a sweetheart, but like all children sometimes she gets angry and stubborn."

The mother finally arrived at the spot where the nine-year-old had gone into the woods, and she got out of the car. She started screaming for her, but the girl kept running.

"I started going in after her," she said. "But the ground was so wet and soft and full of snow and muck I just couldn't catch her. It was around that time people had been talking about coyotes in the area, so I was even more afraid. I started yelling at her about the coyotes, trying to scare her, but she kept on going."

It was about that time her "hero" showed up.

HRM employee David Booker was working on the roads that day waiting for a load of rock when he saw a little girl running toward the woods with no coat on. He knew something strange was going on, and by the time he got out of his truck he saw a van stop and a woman jumped out. She was clearly upset and crying.

"Something was wrong and even though I didn't know if I should stick my nose in, I knew I had to help," he said. "She told me what happened and so I just headed for the woods."

The little girl's mother wasn't sure she would go to a stranger, so she gave Booker her daughter's blanket. He took it and ran in after the girl calling her name.

"It was like he didn't care about anything but going in after my daughter," she said. "He told me he'd get her."

Eventually the girl came out of the woods and she was fine. Her mother was so appreciative she called Fall River Coun. Barry Dalrymple and Booker's supervisor and told them what he had done.

Booker, also from Beaver Bank, has worked for HRM for 34 years. In all those years, he said, he'd never experienced anything like what happened that day. When asked why he stopped to help when some people may have just turned their head, Booker humbly answered: "I guess it was just human nature. It's just me," he said. "And when you have kids and grandkids, this stuff just hits home."

Dalrymple presented Booker with a plaque from the city recognizing his humanitarian efforts and service to the community.

"Not just as a councillor," said Dalrymple, "but as a longtime police officer, I can really appreciate what he did."