A 37-year-old Duluth woman and her dog were swept into the Temperance River on Saturday, July 21. The woman fortunately caught herself on a log in a pool about 200 – 300 yards above this multi-use bridge across the river. Lake County Search and Rescue worked with Cook County emergency crews to rescue her and her dog.
Just one day after being paged to Temperance River for a missing person, emergency responders were paged for a river rescue once again—this time responders knew a person was in distress in the water. Cook County Law Enforcement received a call from a cell phone with poor reception at 3:37 p.m. on Saturday, July 21 reporting “someone stuck in the river.” A second call came in three minutes later reporting “a girl and a dog stuck in the river about a half mile up the Superior Hiking Trail.” A rope rescue team was called to rescue a 37-year-old Duluth woman from the river.
The only member of Cook County Search and Rescue in the area was SAR Chief Willie Olin, who was passing through Lutsen when the call came out. Because of the unavailability of other Cook County SAR personnel, a mutual aid call for assistance was made to Lake County Search and Rescue, which responded with its rope rescue team, arriving at the scene at 4:48 p.m.
Reached by phone, the very grateful woman, who prefers to known just as Amanda, shared her story. She was hiking with a friend, also from Duluth, when she stopped to play in the water with her golden retriever named Lucy. Although it was shallow, the dog got caught in the current. Amanda grabbed for her dog and they were both swept into the water.
Amanda said she doesn’t clearly recall what happened, but according to Cook County Search and Rescue Chief Willie Olin, she ended up clinging to a log in a pool of water about 200-300 yards above the multi-use bridge across the Temperance.
Amanda said current was pushing from her right to her left and she clung to the log, treading water. She was able to shout to her friend who made the first frantic 911 call. Unable to get cell phone service, she ended up running all the way back to the parking lot to find someone with a phone that had adequate signal to make a 911 call. The friend didn’t know when she made that call if Amanda was still clinging to the log.
In the water, Lucy brushed up against Amanda, who pulled her onto the log. However, the dog jumped back into the water and attempted to swim to the riverbank ledge. The current kept pushing her back to Amanda who pulled her to the log several times. Amanda waited for about 45 minutes, but she said, “I assumed help was coming.”
Asked if the water was cold, she said, “To be honest, I don’t remember. I was just wondering how I was going to get out of there.”
Amanda said she was reassured by the presence of a local man who asked that his name not be given out. She said she didn’t know how he got down to the river, but he appeared on a ledge downstream, offering reassurance that help was on the way.
Her friend returned to the edge of the rocky wall above the pool, and with her was an EMT with a rescue bag. The rescuers threw a life jacket across the pool to rescuers on the other side. Those people, high above and unseen by Amanda, dropped the lifejacket down to her on a rope. She had a backpack on so was not able to put the life jacket on without letting go of the log, so she looped it over one arm. With encouragement from the fellow on the ledge and the rescuers above, she pushed off toward the ledge with the life jacket on her left arm, holding Lucy with her right. Amanda said when she got to the spot in the pool where Lucy kept hitting the current, she pushed the dog forward and swam as hard as she could. Her ledge rescuer was able to pull her ashore.
“And there we sat,” said Amanda. “We sat on the ledge chatting, this man who doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”
Amanda agreed not to share his name, but she said, “I want him to know how much I appreciate him being there, for his part in my rescue.”
A calm and reassuring EMT eventually climbed down and bandaged a cut on Amanda’s head. She also brought water and snacks. In the meantime, overhead, the rope team from Lake County set up what from her vantage point looked to Amanda like “some crazy spider webbing climbing gear.”
Fortunately Amanda had some climbing experience and once harnessed was able to “basically walk up the wall.” Lucy was harnessed as well and pulled to the top of the bluff. Amanda was checked over by Cook County Ambulance, but aside from the minor cut on her head and some bruises on her arms, she was fine and did not need to go to the hospital.
The ordeal was over at 7:02 p.m.
On the phone, Amanda stressed how grateful she was to all the people involved in her rescue. She was told that if she had been pushed down one more waterfall, she would have certainly been killed.
She expressed appreciation to the “mystery man” and still wonders how he got down to her in the river—and how he disappeared so quickly after her rescue. She said she appreciated all the bystanders who stayed with her friend throughout the whole ordeal.
To all of the rescuers, she said, “How do I say thank you to all of you for saving my life? I am eternally grateful. It is a miracle and I appreciate that every day is a gift.”
There have been multiple deaths in the powerful rapids. In 2008, two young women, 17 and 22, from Maple Grove, MN perished after being swept away by the current in a popular wading spot. In 2001, a 22-year-old hiker from Finland, MN died after falling in the river. In 2000, a 50-yearold Wisconsin man drowned while saving his 8-year-old son. Another father, 48, from Remer, MN drowned while rescuing his 12-year-old daughter. In 1996, a 14-year-old boy from Crystal, MN drowned after diving at one of Temperance’s waterfalls.
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