Woman, child rescued from Cd'A River

KINGSTON — A woman and child were rescued from the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River on Saturday after being pulled under the water by the current.

Shoshone County Sheriff's Office Cpt. Jeff Lee stated in a news release that a call came into their office reporting a drowning in the afternoon near milepost 16.

According to the reporting party, two subjects were allegedly floating down the river and became caught up by a downed tree and were immediately pulled underwater.

The floaters, a 61-year-old female and an 11-year-old old male child, were quickly rescued from the water by passersby. The female was found unconscious, not breathing, and not wearing any water safety equipment. The citizens who pulled them from the water began life saving measures (CPR). The male child, wearing a life-jacket, never lost consciousness but was obviously shaken from the incident.

The adult female regained consciousness and was taken by lifeflight to Kootenai hospital and for precautions, the child was transported by ambulance with his father to the nearest hospital.

It has been reported by Shoshone County deputies on scene that the river is very high and very cold, around 46 degrees.

"If it wasn't for the quick actions by the citizens near this incident, the outcome could have been much worse," Lee said. "We would like to remind all visitors to any of our waterways, to always wear protective gear (life-jacket) when you are enjoying the water. The Coeur d'Alene River and St. Joe River are both very cold, very deep and have strong currents at this time."