In the afternoon of 3 May 1981, Bradley Caplan saved a six-year-old boy who had fallen in the South Saskatchewan River and was being carried away by the current. While playing near the weir, the boy lost his footing and fell into the icy water. He was panic-stricken but managed to hold on to a protruding stump. Responding to the boy's cries for help, Mr. Caplan hurried down to the shore and jumped fully-clothed to his rescue. Once he had calmed the child, the rescuer had to swim against the swiftly-moving current while holding the boy and, though he was pulled under many times, succeeded in reaching safety. The young boy almost certainly owes his life to the prompt action of Mr. Caplan.