Jordan Seiger, 5, didn’t know what he was doing when he jumped off a diving board Monday at the Lawrence Aquatic Center.

“I thought it was a little pool,” he said. “I didn’t know it was a big pool and it was dangerous.”

When Jordan hit the water, he said, he tried to paddle and kick his legs but the water was too deep. Luckily, a boy who was already in the water after jumping off the high dive saw Jordan and pulled him to the side.

Dayna Seiger, Jordan’s mother, is looking for that boy.

“He saved my son’s life. He should be rewarded somehow,” she said. “He is a hero, a little hero.”

At the time of the incident Jordan was with the Boys and Girls Club. Seiger said no one got the boy’s name, but a Boys and Girls Club employee there told Seiger he was blond with green shorts.

Derec Lacio, assistant manager at the center, said the lifeguard on duty blew the whistle to begin the pool’s Emergency Action Plan as soon as he saw Jordan in the water. He ran around the pool to Jordan to make sure he was not injured.

Lacio said at that point the lifeguard made an error by not taking Jordan to a safe area and continuing to monitor his condition. He returned to his chair immediately. Lacio said since Monday the lifeguard has been reoriented. He said this was the lifeguard’s first summer at this facility.

Jordan Seiger, 5, stands in front of the diving area at the Lawrence Aquatic Center. Jordan, who can't swim, jumped Monday from the diving board into the pool. A boy who had jumped off the high dive saw him struggle in the water and pulled him to the side.

When the lifeguard blew the whistle, Lacio said, Jordan was a distressed swimmer and was not actively drowning. A distressed swimmer can still call for help and is usually flailing. Lacio said it was common for the pool to rescue several distressed swimmers in a day, but he did not know of any drowning rescues recently.

Seiger said she had warned Jordan about going near the deep water.

“We’ve had this conversation,” she said. “He got into really big trouble.”

Seiger said she would not allow Jordan to go on the next pool outing with the club as punishment, and she has enrolled him in swimming lessons.

¢ 6News video: Looking for a hero

To relay information about the unidentified rescuer, call the Journal-World at 832-6349 or 6News at 832-6327.