Christmas Eve Rescue: People Spend Hours Saving Trapped Elk in Icy River

• When two men spotted several elk trapped in an icy river, they quickly sprang to action to help them.
• As one of them got some rope, the rescue party quickly grew into the dozens.
• They all teamed up to pull the elk out, cover them with blankets, and warm them by a fire until it was already nighttime.

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Dozens of people spent Christmas eve trying to rescue a dozen elk from freezing to death in the Kettle River south of Barstow, in Ferry County, Washington.

While out coyote hunting, Jeff Stuart and Jordan Fish noticed about 40 elk standing on the far side of the icy river, while some cows and calves had fallen through the ice and gotten trapped.

Jeff told his wife, Rylee Stuart, that he was going to try and rescue the elk.

So he went to Barstow to get some rope. Rylee then drove to the river to help out, accompanied by her mom and kids. Before they knew it, the rescue party quickly grew into the dozens.

They all teamed up to help pull the animals out, cover them in blankets, then warm them by a fire.

The rescue effort definitely wasn’t easy.

Rylee told The Spokesman-Review, “You had to hook these cows, and then you had to try and unhook them once they got to the bank, without getting … kicked.”

One of them fell into the icy water, another had his hand broken, and a third got an elk kick in the back of the head.

While they did try to call for professional help, there were no available officers for an elk rescue. Fish and Wildlife District 1 Officer Severin Erickson was available, but he still had to drive 2 hours to get there.

He arrived at a “bizarre” scene: three elk eating alfalfa and standing next to humans. He said that the animals may have been affected by hypothermia and shock, making them less fearful of humans.

It took them until nighttime, at about 8.p.m., to finish the rescue. Sadly, they lost six — four calves and two cows. But thanks to their efforts, four cows and two calves survived.

The whole experience was emotional for them. Rylee shared, “We laid with these elk, we did CPR on these elk, we cried over these elk, we were strong for these elk as a group!”

In one particularly memorable moment, a calf who appeared to be on the verge of death managed to stand up and walk on her own. She was later named “Lucky.”

Rylee said that no one planned on having a Christmas Eve out in the cold, but it definitely was an incredible experience for everyone.

Source: sunny skyz