Bystanders hold trapped woman’s head above raging river. See ‘incredible’ rescue
What was supposed to be “a relaxing family camping trip” along a Utah river quickly turned into a nightmare when a woman became trapped under a bridge.
A ranger was patrolling the Trestle Bridge on the Provo River on June 28 when someone approached to report that a paddleboarder was trapped under the structure, the Utah Department of Natural Resources said in a July 9 news release posted to Facebook.
Several strangers and passersby jumped into action to help the 45-year-old woman, video from the ranger’s body camera shows.
Based on the video, it appears the paddleboard leash snagged on the wooden structure holding the bridge up and held her under the water still attached to the upside-down board. Water rushes over her head as someone yells for her to “hold on,” the video shows. A person on the trestle yells for her to grab their leg. Others yell for someone to hold her up.
The ranger asks from the shore whether she can breathe and those around her answer that she can’t, the video shows. Someone holds her head above water for a few moments and yells for her to breathe.
Then they hold the paddleboard’s leash up and tell the ranger to cut it. They cut the paddleboard away, but she appears to still be tangled.
Someone in a tube docks the vessel on the shore and the ranger instructs them to request help through the radio, the video shows.
An officer lowers a “throw bag” down from the bridge as the ranger and bystanders continue holding the woman’s head above the 55-degree water, the video shows. They held her head above the frigid rushing water for about 30 minutes until they were able to free her from the structure, officials said.
Eventually they get her free from the trestle and bring her over to the shore as people watching from the bridge cheer at the successful water rescue.
“With hypothermic water conditions present, rescuers immediately begin to warm the individuals that were in the water,” officials said. “Bystanders offer towels, blankets and sleeping bags to aid the process.”
The woman’s decision to wear a life jacket that day “likely played a role in keeping her head above water” and helped save her life, officials said.
The woman commented on the post and thanked the kind strangers and rescuers who saved her.
“I don’t even know where to begin. What was supposed to be a relaxing family camping trip along the Provo river, turned into a swift water rescue!” Tiffinie Ann Wolf said. “There are no words for how I’m feeling!”
She thanked her daughter for getting out of the water and asking a stranger to call her husband for help. She also thanked the rescue teams and “all of the selflessness of the bystanders who were there to help.”
Wolf had gotten “caught up on something under the water while paddle boarding,” she said in a video she posted to her Facebook page on July 10, adding that she was “so thankful for everyone that came to help.”
“It really brings back the faith in humanity!” she said in the post.
“The kindness of strangers is really incredible!” she said. “I am so grateful for the outcome of this situation and how important life jackets are. Just that morning my daughter asked if she had to wear one, and it is a non-negotiable! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Bystanders hold trapped woman’s head above raging river. See ‘incredible’ rescue."
