Iqaluit (Sep 22/03) - An Iqaluit elder, who likes to sit quietly at his window looking out over Frobisher Bay, spotted two children stranded on a rock out on the bay last week and assisted police in rescuing them.

According to police, Michelle Aula and Ian Peter had been playing on a large boulder when the tide rose suddenly, forcing them to scramble to the highest point on the rock and wait for help.

Assistance would eventually come from a sharp-eyed elder who always keeps watch on the bay.

Eliyah Pudloo, 65, and his wife Annie, who hails from Kimmirut, were enjoying a peaceful afternoon together Sept. 9 in their apartment overlooking Frobisher Bay.

Ever since the Pudloo moved in, Eliyah has been strongly attracted to the view.

"He loves to sit there," his daughter Lisa said, interpreting for her Inuktitut-speaking father.

His son Kidlapik agreed. "He is always looking out there, he loves to see what's going on."

Usually it just amuses Eliyah to watch all the new people coming and going in this city where he once knew everyone.

Occasionally he will pick up his trusty binoculars -- a pair of Tasco 7x50 mm, the waterproof kind with glue securing one of the eyepieces -- and signal to his wife or one of his children to come have a look at this or that.

But when he motioned to Annie on Sept. 9 there was more of an urgency -- a sense that what he was seeing on the bay required action. He quickly jumped on his Honda and sped off.

There were some people he didn't know standing on the shore, Eliyah recalled.

When he looked again they were gone, and there was no one rushing to help the kids who were standing on a rock, in danger of being sucked into the quickly rising tide.

"There were locals pushing a boat on dry sand out in the water," recalled Cpl. Jimmy Akavak who was on the scene. "Eliyah came in on his four-wheeler and jumped in the boat right away."

By then the children were in great danger.

Eliyah knows how that tide works. Even from a mile away he knew if someone didn't get out there fast, something terrible was going to happen.

The next few minutes were frantic for Eliyah and the people standing on the shore as the RCMP arrived and action was taken.

"Const. Michael Salomonie jumped in with Eliyah and off they went," Akavak said.

The two children were very quiet when help arrived, Eliyah recalled.

"They were scared," Akavak said, "but they were dry. Another 15 or 20 minutes the water would have been up to their feet. The tide was quite high and very fast. If it had been darker, it wouldn't have been a pretty sight."

The girl was shivering, Eliyah said. The boy was in slightly better condition because his clothes were a little warmer.

Both were taken to hospital where the girl was treated for mild hypothermia.

"Even if there wasn't a boat," Lisa said, "he would have gone out there."

As Eliyah retold the story, he continued to look out the window and point to where the children were. Lisa explained, "even if he was up to his waist in water, he would have gone out there."

Eliyah has spent much of his life watching out for others, but he is soft-spoken and humble about that. Now retired, Eliyah worked as a janitor, a laundromat worker, and was also involved at the former army base before it shut down.

Throughout his life, Eliyah has always had an eye and an ear for those in need.

"I've known him to help out," said Cpl. Akavak. "He's quite active that way. He goes out of his way."

The rescue on Sept. 9 was not his first, and the CB radio positioned in his living room, along with his ever-present binoculars, indicate it probably won't be his last.

He has a history of going out on the land or up into the air to search for missing people in the Iqaluit area, Lisa said.

In April 1974, Eliyah was involved in his first ever search with the authorities. It was for a missing friend.

Sadly, his friend was found frozen to death after being involved in a motor vehicle accident, but that first experience did not discourage him.

"He likes to help," Lisa said simply.

More recently Eliyah helped search and rescue crews in Iqaluit locate missing people, at one point travelling in a search and rescue helicopter.

He knows the land well, his daughter said. "He likes to go for it if he can," she said. After the brave rescue on Sept. 9, the RCMP sent Eliyah a letter personally thanking him for his selfless act of heroism.

The quick retrieval of a boat was "instrumental" the police said, "in a successful rescue of the children."

Eliyah doesn't think kids and their parents take the waters of Frobisher Bay seriously enough.

"Where were their parents?" he said. "Kids have to be careful around this area. If I didn't see them, they wouldn't be here today."

Akavak also had strong words about watching the tides.

"Parents have to know where their kids are."

These children had wandered off, he said.

"There were no parents or guardians around.

"At least locals were there and called the police," Akavak said, adding, "it was a good ending for a change."