ONTONAGON, MI-- A young girl is lucky to be alive, after she fell into the Ontonagon River on Friday.
State Police from the Wakefield Post were dispatched to Elmer Park in Ontonagon after the 10- to 12-year-old slipped off the boardwalk and into the water. Due to ice buildup on the shore she couldn’t get out on her own.
A man walking his dog found the girl semi-conscious and called 911. Troopers suspect she was in the river for several minutes before assistance arrived.
The trooper who responded to the scene noticed the girl was suffering from severe hypothermia and needed immediate medical attention. He transported her in his patrol vehicle to Aspirus Hospital.
Medical personnel said the girl had a dangerously low internal body temperature when she was brought in. They said if not for the quick response of the citizen and the trooper, she wouldn’t have survived much longer.
