By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News | Photos Courtesy of the Emery County Sheriff’s Office

The Emery County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on Saturday, Sept. 13, saying a person was stuck in a wash along the south side of Green River, which was experiencing flash flooding. With assistance from multiple agencies and citizens, the ECSO was able to rescue the individual with only minor injuries.

Upon arrival at the scene, the initial responder called for backup from the Green River Fire Department in addition to assistance from the Green River Public Works Department.

“Once all resources were on scene, the work of establishing a plan to rescue the subject began. Shortly after, a Green River resident arrived on scene with a raft and offered his assistance,” reads a statement from Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington. “Rescuers were able to tie off to the front-end loader and send the raft into the swift water to rescue the subject.”

Green River resident Kent Nelson and Deputy Josh Opp manned the raft, navigating it through the rough waters to the trapped individual. Once there, a life jacket was placed on the subject and, with the help of volunteers and first responders, pulled to safety.

The individual was transported to the hospital with only minor injuries thanks to the quick work of responders.

“A HUGE thank you to Green River Fire Department, Green River City Public Works crew, Utah Highway Patrol, Classic Air Medical, and any other Green River citizens who jumped in to help at this time of need. The actions provided by the citizens were priceless,” shared Huntington.

Closed the Sheriff,” They put themselves in danger to rescue a perfect stranger. The victim is not from our area and no one knew him, but that did not matter to any of them. They were all cold and wet, working together to rescue a very scared person that could have been swept away at any second. To all involved, your actions today absolutely saved a life.”