When 8-year-old Amarys Lopez went missing during a family gathering over the Labor Day weekend, her grandmother, Luz Rodriguez, was afraid for her granddaughter's life.
Amarys, who has autism, went missing just months after a 7-year-old boy who also has autism, Harbe Nagi, went missing and drowned in the Albany suburb of Menands.
Rodriguez said that incident was weighing on her as she searched for her granddaughter.
"While the search was going on and everything, it was just scary," Rodriguez said. "At that moment, you know, all the thoughts go to your head, and sometimes thoughts that are not really good. Like not long ago, there was bad news with the little kid that had a bad ending."
Rodriguez's neighbors sprung into action and started looking for Amarys around the neighborhood. One of those neighbors, Michael Schnoop, was honored Tuesday for his heroism after he saved Amarys from the Hudson River.
Schnoop joined in the search for Amarys and decided to check a section of the riverfront with a hole in the fence.
"Something just brought me just to go to that hole, just to go towards that hole, because I knew the hole was there, and not a lot of people did," Schnoop told reporters after the ceremony. "And when I asked the two girls, the witnesses, about it, they said that she was playing over there. That's when my heart dropped."
Schnoop and some Troy police officers found Amarys hanging onto a ladder along the seawall. That's when Schnoop jumped into the Hudson.
"I didn't even think about it," Schnoop said. "I just seen her, and I just jumped in. There was no second thought about it. And as I said, I'd do it again. I just I like to help people."
Schnoop reached Amarys, got a hold of her, and kept them both above water. He tried to climb up the ladder on the side of the seawall, but several rungs were missing.
"There was no way I could pull up three missing rungs," Schnoop said. "They wanted me to wait for the fire department, but I couldn't wait."
The city fire department's rescue boat was on its way, but it would take some time. Three police officers at the scene formed a human chain, got past the gap in the ladder, and pulled Amarys to safety.
Schnoop received a signed declaration and rounds of applause at a ceremony celebrating his heroism on Monday. But he spent most of the ceremony up against the back wall in between Amarys' family members. He spoke for just a few seconds, and only after being called up by Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello. He says he wasn't expecting the spotlight.
"I like my life, just my boring life," Schnoop said. "It's just too much excitement for me."
Rodriguez, Amarys' grandmother, says she learned two things that day: that they should install more locks and a door alarm to keep Amarys safe, and that the world can be a good place.
"Knowing that there's still good people in this world gives good hope because sometimes we just hear bad stuff, bad stuff happening inside bad stuff, and then when something good happens, it's a blessing. I'm not wishing this ever to happen on anyone ever again, but it's good to know that I live in a community that cares."
