Woman who fell into Mantua Reservoir recounts rescue


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MANTUA, Box Elder County — When Rebecca Peterson fell through the ice at Mantua Reservoir and couldn't get herself out of the water, she didn't panic.

"A lot of people are like, 'Did you think it was over? Did you ever think to yourself, "This is it?"' And I'm like, 'No.' I think a lot of people get in life or death situations, and nobody is going to be like, 'This is where I'm giving up.' They're going to fight and give it all that they have," she said.

Speaking in a calm, confident, matter-of-fact voice Tuesday, Peterson recounted for reporters her rescue and how she ended up in the water, and expressed her gratitude for everyone involved in helping her.

On Sunday, Peterson, 32, was visiting her parents and decided to take a walk around the reservoir with two dogs — Asia, a Labrador, and Belle, a springer spaniel — as she had done so many times before. The Heber City woman had most recently walked around the reservoir on Thanksgiving.

"When I came up again, the whole reservoir was iced over. And I thought, 'Well, this could cause trouble.' But the dogs were staying on the shoreline. They weren't doing anything, so (I thought), 'We'll be OK,'" she said.

But about a mile into her walk, one of the dogs spotted some ducks in a spot where the ice had broken.

"She ran after the ducks and she just jumped in the water. And I stood there, and I watched her trying to get out and she couldn't get out," Peterson said.

After about 60 to 90 seconds of watching her dog struggle to get out of the water, Peterson thought to herself, "She's either going to drown or I'm going to go get her."

"I just thought, 'She's not going to be able to get out by herself, and you can either stand here and watch my dog drown, or I could go out and try and save her,'" she said.

Peterson, who has experience in the outdoors, including ice fishing, said she knew the risks. In a way, she said falling through the ice was both expected and unexpected at the same time.

Peterson walked onto the ice, and was OK at first. She crawled on her knees to get to her dog and was less than 5 feet away from reaching her when the ice gave way and she fell in.

Peterson pushed her dog out of the water, and then tried five or six times to pull herself out, but the ice kept breaking beneath her, she said. Between the two dogs, she said she actually had to push them out of the water four times because they kept coming to her.

About that time, Thomas Braithwaite, an employee of Brigham City, which manages the reservoir, was making his rounds to check the reservoir. On that day, he did so about two hours later than normal. Peterson believes it was fate.

"Once he was out of his truck and talking to me, I was like, 'I'm going to be OK. I'm going to be OK,'" she said.

But her hands started to go numb, and Peterson said she tried two more times to get out of the water, only to have the ice break and fall back in. She said Braithwaite kept telling her to rest.

Thomas Braithwaite saw Rebecca Peterson in the water and called 911. (Photo: Chris Samuels/Deseret News)
Thomas Braithwaite saw Rebecca Peterson in the water and called 911. (Photo: Chris Samuels/Deseret News)

"My hands are numb; I can't feel them. I don't know how much longer I can hold on," she told him.

Peterson called 911, and Brad Nelson, a part-time police officer in Mantua, responded. It took Nelson only three attempts to throw a rope with a disc on the end about 100 feet to Peterson.

"I don't know if you're a champion disc thrower," Peterson recalled asking Nelson jokingly.

She was able to grab onto the rope, and Nelson pulled her out. Peterson's first reaction was to make sure her dogs were OK and didn't run back into the water. Once she was assured that they would be taken care of, Nelson and Braithwaite were able to get Peterson into warm blankets and drive her to a waiting ambulance.

On Tuesday, Peterson said she was grateful for everyone who helped, from her rescuers to the doctors to the people who took care of her dogs.

"I can't say it enough just how thankful I am for everybody," she said. "To me, it still doesn't seem real."

As for commenters on social media who have criticized her for going onto the ice in the first place, Peterson said it's easy for people to second guess her actions when they weren't there.

"Nobody knows what they're going to do until that happens," she said.

Contributing: Mike Anderson

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