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Mysterious hero makes a daring rescue

The rescuer managed to sneak away after carrying 73-year-old Robert Wells to safety
Mysterious hero vanishes after saving man from fire 01:50

An elderly man, reportedly on a respirator, was inside his Fresno, California, home Saturday morning when a huge fire broke out.

Remarkable video shows a shy hero who risked his life to rescue the man, and left before neighbors had the chance to thank him, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone.

"The fire was fully engulfed, flames, huge flames coming out of the roof before the fire department even arrived on the scene," property owner Kathleen Pannett said.

But one woman had no idea of the drama that would unfold when she stopped her car to record the scene on her cell phone.

"I do remember this man in a blue cap, just very calmly walking toward where the house was, where the fire was and just very calmly starts walking back there and I just kept filming," Beth Lederach said. "And the next thing you know, there he is coming back out of the house carrying this man."

The rescued man,73-year-old Robert Wells, suffered nothing more serious than smoke inhalation.

No one on the scene knew where his rescuer came from and he seemed to slip away almost as quickly and mysteriously as he arrived.

"I don't know if he was really somebody that just stopped because this is a busy street," Pannett said. "Some people do heroic things and they just walk away. They don't want recognition. They don't want anyone to know their name, and that's good too."

Apparently sometimes a good deed is its own reward.

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