Video released of Utah ranger saving woman trapped under Provo River bridge

PROVO — A woman says she'll never forget the Utah ranger who jumped into the Provo River and helped her after she became trapped under a bridge while paddleboarding.

Tiffinie Wolf, of South Jordan, was floating the river near the trestle bridge on June 28 when she got caught on something beneath the water.

"We're like, 'Yeah, paddleboarding sounds awesome and the river is cool,'" Wolf said, recalling the day with a smile. "It was just a day to hang out."

But their day of fun quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal.

"I don't know what I was caught on, but my foot was caught. Not my tether," she said. "I'm just like, 'How am I stuck here?' Like, I don't get it. And I can't get out of it."

Wolf had been trying to paddle toward her daughter, who had just flipped into the river, when the current pulled her to the far side of the bridge.

While her daughter was able to make it to shore, Wolf remained pinned beneath the bridge's structure.

Her daughter started asking people for help when a Utah Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement ranger just happened to be nearby, patrolling the area.

Body camera video from Ranger Wyatt Manis shows the urgency as he ran into the water.

In the video clip, you can hear someone telling Wolf to hold on as Manis gets into the water.

Manis removed his vest to get to Wolf, who was doing her best to keep her head above water despite wearing a life jacket.

At one point in the video, another person can be heard yelling, "Cut the leash! Cut the leash!" so her paddleboard was no longer pulling her.

"I grabbed onto him like this … for dear life," Wolf said, grabbing her hands together to show how tightly she held on.

The water was about 55 degrees Fahrenheit that day.

Manis and a bystander held Wolf's head above water for approximately 30 minutes until Wasatch County Search and Rescue teams arrived and freed her.

Capt. Chase Pili with the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement said if not for the ranger's actions, as well as the bystander rushing to help, there could've been a different outcome.

"That's exactly what we train for every single day, the moments to help someone in need," Pili said. "Those are the things that help us wake up and put on our gear for the next day, for sure."

Wolf said she gets emotional thinking about what Manis did.

"It was so selfless that I can't even believe there are people who do that," she said. "You know, it's really … it is really incredible."

There have been plans to replace the old trestle bridge with one that spans the entire river, like a newer bridge right next to it.

The Utah Department of Transportation and Utah Department of Natural Resources both own the bridge, and talked about replacing it for several years; however, that project is currently tied up in lawsuits with a private landowner.

Until a resolution is reached, natural resources officials are urging caution on the Provo River, especially near the bridge.

"There is a pullout we recommend using just before the bridge where you can get out of the river and then enter it again after the bridge," Pili said. "But we know a lot of people don't do that, so we just want to make sure everyone knows, if you are floating the Provo River, to be aware of this trestle bridge. We just don't want to see anything worse happen."

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