Editor's Note: On Thursday, Oscar Gonzalez’s girlfriend contacted NBC4 to say her boyfriend rescued the rabbit. He did an interview with the station describing what happened. NBC4 followed up with Gonzalez and his girlfriend Saturday. They still insist he was the one seen in the video, and provided pictures of clothing that was similar, but had distinct differences. An enhanced image from the original video makes it clear Caleb Wadnan is the person seen in the video.
A viral video of a brazen rabbit rescue during the scorching Thomas Fire made thousands of people online wonder about the identity of the mysterious hero.
On Saturday, NBC4 found reason to believe that Oscar Gonzalez was not the man in the video as he claimed and followed up him with him and his girlfriend. The couple still insists he was the one seen in the video, but after using an enhanced image NBC4 concluded the actual man in the video was Caleb Wadnan.
Wadnan shared his recollection of the heartwarming rescue. He says he was driving along the freeway to see the flames when he caught sight of the scared animal.
"I just ran after it," Wadnan said. "I had a lot of faith in me at the time-being. So I was just focused on the life at hand rather than the flames around me."
Experts advise others to refrain from trying the same.
