PALMYRA, MO. -- What could have turned into a deadly fishing trip for a Palmyra boy and his friends turned into a happy ending Sunday. Firefighters from Hannibal and Palmyra rescued the boy from a roller dam on the North River near Palmyra. Only KHQA caught the entire rescue on camera.
"We lost our net. He jumped in, all three of them got sucked in and they all got sucked under water.One got out and the other tried to help him, but he just kept freaking out, and kept getting sucked under," said Angel Thordson, a friend and eye witness.
More friends tried to help, but said the water was just too cold and the current too strong.
"He finally got a hold of the dam, and we just told him to stay there and wait for the fire department to come with all the police," said Thordsen.
The Marion County Missouri 911 center got a cell phone call at 3:25 p.m. about kids in the water in the North River, located on the north edge of Palmyra. The North River is approximately 50 yards wide at most points.
Rescue crews arrived on scene within minutes.
"He was hung up on the dam down here and they had ropes tied to him but was unable to get him out," said Jeff Frame, Hannibal's assistant fire chief.
Friends waited helplessly along the river as rescue crews made one attempt after another to pull the boy in.
"Our first issue was how we were going to get the boat from here to access him," said Frame.
Finally, crews reached him by boat and pulled him to shore.
The young boy was treated for hypothermia. Witnesses say he's a student at the Palmyra Middle School.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA