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Icy river bodies: Authorities in South Dakota are trying to find two bodies that disappeared into an icy river on Thursday.
A YouTube screenshot shows Big Sioux River in South Dakota at an undisclosed date. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)
Authorities in South Dakota are searching for the bodies of two people who disappeared when they tried to rescue a child from an icy river.
The 6-year-old child was rescued and is safe with family members, reported Fox News. But the rapids of the Big Sioux River at Falls Park near Sioux Falls swept the boy’s sister and a man away.
The boy was climbing on rocks Thursday evening when he fell into the river, reported The Associated Press, citing Sioux Falls Fire Chief Jim Sideras. Emergency crews kept searching the area Friday, but they expect to recover bodies.
Napoleon Ducheneaux, 21, said his friend disappeared into the water trying to save the boy and the woman. Ducheneaux said the man “slipped and disappeared” while he was holding onto the boy and woman’s hands, AP reported.
Authorities identified the young boy as Garrett Wallace of Vermillion, S.D. The woman was identified as Madison Wallace, 16, and the man as Lyle Eagletail of Sioux Falls, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
“Three of us that had him, and he had a kid, the kid with him but he just slipped, he slipped. I heard him say hold onto me, and I’ll hold onto you and then that was like the last I heard his voice.” Ducheneaux told Fox.
Ducheneaux said that the man and woman “literally jumped in without thinking of their own safety and trying to rescue that child,” according to AP. “It’s a very noble act that they did, and they probably contributed to saving that boy’s life.”
Sideras told NBC News that a crane might be needed to aid in the recovery.
“We have some issues with very thick ice that we are trying to address. We also have a high flow of water because of ice melting,” he said.
“We have a lot of foam. We have on the scene crews who are trained in swift water rescue and ice rescue. We also have on site a dive team. Because of the thickness of the ice, it’s not possible for that team to go in. We are still doing search patterns,” he continued.
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