Dead body reported in Jordan River turns out to be mannequin

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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City firefighters responded to a report of a "dead body" in the Jordan River Surplus Canal on Friday that turned out to be a mannequin.

Coincidentally, the dummy belonged to the fire department and got lost about a year ago during a water rescue training session.

Salt Lake City Fire Department water rescue technician Ammon “Dutch” Nielsen retrieves a lost training mannequin that resurfaced in the Jordan River near 1700 South in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. Police and firefighters were called to the scene of a suspected dead body in the river and instead found one of the fire department’s mannequins lost in a prior swift-water rescue training event. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, KSL)

Officials made the most of the situation by using the mannequin to practice high-water rescue skills, something especially relevant considering the water is running higher than usual this year.

To manage snowpack, a planned water release from Utah Lake on Friday increased water levels up to 2 feet higher on the river. Officials asked the public to avoid the banks of the river while water is running high.