Deputies use child's swing to rescue trapped deer


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KAMAS — Mike Scheuer and his wife got an abrupt awakening early Thursday.

"About 1:30 in the morning, we heard all this commotion out the bedroom window," Scheuer explained. "My wife shined a flashlight down there and found a juvenile deer trying to jump out of the window well."

As Summit County sheriff's deputies arrived, Scheuer says they weren't sure what to do.

"(He) looked down there and said, 'This is going to be a tough one.' He said, 'I don't know if we're going to be able to get him out,'" Scheuer recalled.

Knowing that they'd likely have to wait until after sunrise to get help from animal control, Deputy Brett Loyola said he and his partner decided to improvise.

"We didn't have a lot of time, because it was trying to break through the window," Loyola said. "We walked around the yard, and at first I found a wheelbarrow."

The wheelbarrow, however, proved too difficult with the depth of the window well, which was around 7 feet, according to Loyola. Luckily, he then spotted an outdoor play set.

"I honestly didn't think it was going to work," Loyola said.

Using the seat as a makeshift rescue harness, video from his body cam shows Loyola lowering the swing into the window well. He said during the first attempt, the deer jumped back down out of the swing. They had more luck the second time.

"We were able to get it underneath his belly and tighten it up" with a twisting motion, Loyola said.

"As soon as I felt like I had him, I had my partner grab the other end, and we kind of sling-shotted him out of there," he said.

Aside from some minor cuts and scratches, Loyola said the deer ran off in good condition.

"The real story here is their willingness to not kill that animal," Scheuer remarked. "The deer are all over here, and you learn to live with them, so you don't want to kill them."

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