NSBNews.net photos by Sera Frederick and video by Henry Frederick / A man and child carry water from the surf to a rare Risso's dolphin that washed up on shore Friday in New Smyrna Beach. Later in the day, Indianapolis visitor Kathy Karlander reflects on her contributions in helping this mammal.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Little did Kathy Karlander know that her weekend getaway from Indianapolis to visit her mother would turn into such an adventure with the rescuing of a beached deep-sea dolphin.

 Karlander's vacation got off to an unusual start Friday with a mid-day stroll on the beach that tied up her entire afternoon, but she took it all in stride.

"I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

Even though she's away from her kids, Karlander now has an adventurous story to bring home to them and the power of the Internet with NSBNews.net to show them.

Her five-hour task of helping to save the 10-foot dolphin by carrying buckets of water from the surf so the mammal could be hydrated left her skin reddened from the hot Florida sun and her face flushed, but she wasn't about to make a quick exit, even with a crowd swelling to a couple hundred, gawking with cameras and asking a lot of questions like she was some kind of expert. Though she's the first to admit she's not. 

For Karlander, it was about a small group of strangers working together to complete the job at hand: "It's great how some people can come together and just do something because it's the right thing to do."

For Karlander, it was about a small group of strangers working together to complete the job at hand: "It's great how some people can come together and just do something because it's the right thing to do." 

NSBNews.net, also known as VolusiaNews.net, provides Volusia County 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage, 100% free with breaking news, news of record and investigative reports from New Smyrna Beach, FL, for a 21st-century digital world.