A child dangling from a cliff above a busy road was saved last week thanks to a daring Army National Guardsman.

Ten-year-old Alejandro was hiking with his family off the Appalachian Trail at Anthony's Nose Thursday when he became separated.

The boy's family was searching for him when they ran into 22-year-old Army National Guardsman Lawrence Chiulli, who then started looking through the woods for Alejandro.

Finally, they found him stuck clinging to the side of a cliff above Route 9D.

They realized the boy's hands and legs were giving out, so Chiulli made his way down to Alejandro and kept him from falling until first responders arrived. "A second here, a second there, and things could have went differently. I reached out with my right hand and a grabbed him, because he was actually slipping."

Chiulli says his military training and sports experience helped him keep a level head during the stressful situation. "I picked him up and I propped my right leg against the mountain and I put my left leg against the tree, and with that I was able to hold me and him up for about an hour."