Zane Newton

Rest in Peace, Zane

After first being reported kidnapped by authorities today, a young Bakersfield boy, Zane Newton , age 9, was found dead, near his home. He was buried alive in a cave in. His friends apparently panicked and made up a story about Zane being kidnapped. He might have been saved if these boys would have just told someone. It is beyond sad!

For those that have known me for years, you know this is very personal for me. I was a year or so older than Zane, when I was buried alive in similar cave in, in the backyard of my parents home. But for a few seconds, more, I would have ended up the same way. There aren’t too many people on this good Earth that know what that boy went through. I know. I don’t expect it to be any consolation to his parents or anyone else, but I can tell you from personal experience that from the moment of realization, when it occurs to you that you are not getting out of this, the mind or perhaps God, takes over and there is an eerie calmness, a quiet serenity. It’s been forty three years and I remember it like it was yesterday. It’s not something you can forget. I have more fear and suffering in my nightmares than I did while dying, and I was dying too

When I was pulled out, black and blue, by the Pico Rivera Fire Department, it was presumed that I was dead, but somehow I survived it. I don’t know how. I was under there a long time. I remember starting to fade, losing consciousness . I remember praying, not so much for myself but for my parents, I did not want them to know that I had died. I was praying for them to somehow, never find out. I didn’t want them to suffer. Perhaps Zane was saying the same prayer for his parents. I felt God’s presence that day. God was there with me that day. He was with Zane too. I am sure of it.

Is it fair to say that God saved me but not Zane? I don’t think that is how it works. Like my grandson Nathan who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, perhaps God wanted Zane a little sooner. Perhaps he needed one more angel.

I was lucky. The boy that was with me, Ricky Lerma, and his younger brother, whose name I no longer recall, had the presence of mind to know that they were in over their head, and went for help. Those boys that left Zane will have the rest of their lives to think about what they did or didn't do. My condolences, thoughts and my prayers are with Zane's Parents and the entire family. God Bless you Zane Newton!