Carrollton boy honored with Superhero Bravery Award for saving his grandmother

When 6-year-old Mitchell Tasker saw his grandmother, Janet Grunder, collapse at home Nov. 4, he didn’t panic. Instead, he remembered what she had taught him months before and pressed her Life Alert button, calling for help and potentially saving her life.

Carrollton Police Chief Tim Timberlake, along with Assistant Chief Geno Cook, Officer Paul Miller, Cadet Jack Osborne, Carrollton Mayor Bill Stoneman and Village Administrator Mark Wells visited Carroll County Christian Academy to present him with a Superhero Bravery Award for his calm and courageous actions during the Nov. 4 emergency.

“Mitchell proved that real heroes don’t just wear capes,” Timberlake said. “Heroes come in all sizes, and on that day, it was 6-year-old Mitchell.”

Mitchell’s parents, Scott and Wendi Tasker, were on site to watch Mitchell receive the award in the classroom.

“Mitchell was sitting on the love seat, and his grandma just went down,” said Scott Tasker. “He tried to wake her up, but she wouldn’t respond. So, he went over and hit the button. He told them, ‘My Magga (nickname for grandma) fell, and she won’t wake up.’ It was pretty cool that she showed him that a couple months ago and he remembered.”

Mitchell was all smiles as officers, village officials and fellow students and school staff congratulated him, posed for photos and encouraged him to hang his award in his room.

“Good job, buddy, it’s good to see you again,” said Cook.

According to the police department call log, Assistant Chief Cook was the responding officer and entered the home along with Scott Tasker, who arrived at the scene. Grunder was sitting on the living room floor with no recollection of what happened. She had grabbed a throw blanket from the laundry room to hang on the porch, and the next thing she remembered was waking up on the floor.

Mitchell thanked the officers and officials for the award.