‘She’s my little savior’: 8-year-old girl rescues older neighbor who fell on ice

GARRETT, Ind. (WPTA/Gray News) - An 8-year-old Indiana girl came to her older neighbor’s rescue after hearing her cries for help while she was outside shoveling snow.

Kymber Northrup, 8, was shoveling her parents' walkway in Garrett when she heard her neighbor, Debbie Lytle, calling for help. Lytle had been walking outside to do her laundry when she slipped and fell, WPTA reports.

“I was crying and crying, and my tears are starting to freeze out there. My hands were just – I just couldn’t get up,” Lytle said.

After finding Lytle, Kymber went inside to get her mother, Lisa Messer. Then, the two of them walked Lytle to her house and sprinkled salt on her sidewalk.

Lytle hurt her leg in the fall. She says she was on the ground for at least an hour before Kymber found her.

“She’s my little savior. She took care of me. We didn’t know each other before, but we sure do now,” Lytle said.

She says Kymber has come to check on her at least three or four times since the incident.

Messer adds that Kymber wasn’t going to let Lytle do any more chores that could put her in danger again.

“She said no laundry today. I’ll come do your laundry. I kind of chuckled, but I’m so proud of her,” Messer said.

When asked if Kymber and Lytle will be friends from now on, Lytle replied, “Oh, yeah, yes, yes, yes. I need another grandkid.”

Copyright 2025 WPTA via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.