‘Proof of Angels’ tells the story of voice heard during baby’s miraculous rescue

March 2015: Tyler Beddoes and three of his fellow Spanish Fork police officers rescued 18-monthold Lily Groesbeck from an overturned car found partially submerged in the Spanish Fork River. The river rescue story was remarkable, but what really captured the attention of the world was the mysterious voice the officers heard that day.

Beddoes shares how officers heard and responded to a woman’s voice saying, “Help me, help me.” As they turned the car on its side, they could see the driver was deceased, but in the back seat was an infant suspended in a car seat - now underwater. They knew time was of the essence if the baby could be saved.

Everyone on scene heard the calm voice coming from inside the car, but how could that be possible since neither the driver nor the baby could speak? Officer Beddoes is convinced that it was an angel.

In his newly released book “Proof of Angels,” coauthored by Ptolemy Tompkins, Beddoes talks about his experience during the rescue.

“I’m comfortable calling whoever spoke it an angel, because angels are messengers. And if ever I’ve been given a message, I was that day, while trying to right that car,” he writes.

Co-author Ptolemy Tompkins has collected stories of angelic encounters. For 10 years, he worked at a magazine called “Angels on Earth,” a sister publication of Guideposts, and he has written articles that have appeared in several other national magazines. He is the author of seven books including the best-seller “Proof of Heaven.”

When Tompkins heard the story of the voice pleading for help for the unconscious baby Lily, he knew he wanted to write about it. He intertwines the story of her miraculous rescue with other stories of the visits of angels. Tompkins also believes that these true stories must be shared to build faith.

Tompkins writes, “We have a critical need not for signs and wonders, because we already have them. What we need is the faculty to open our minds and accept them. We need events that demonstrate that the spiritual world is real, that it is populated, and that it is watched over by a God who cares about us.”

Tyler Beddoes felt even if people doubted or criticized him, he still needed to tell the story and share the message that angels are indeed real and that he and his fellow rescuers heard those words, “Help me, help me.”