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PROVO -- A 9-year-old girl who was swept a mile down the Provo River has passed away. We're now getting a better idea of how frantic those first few minutes were through 911 calls.
The 911 tape obtained by KSL Newsradio paints a picture of just how quickly Caitlin Buchkowski from Colorado was carried downstream.
A 911 caller said, "A little girl just went into the rapids. Her mom jumped in after her, but they were going down the river pretty fast and everyone is still running after them. She (the girl) went into the river. She was drifting down, and the mom jumped in about a foot from her, but I don't know if she caught her or not. They both kept on going down the river."
The 911 dispatcher asked, "Did they have any flotation or anything?" The caller answered, "No, no flotation, nothing."
The dispatcher then asked, "Can anybody see either of them?"
The caller responded, "No. People are still running after them."
Buchkowski died at Primary Children's Medical Center Tuesday night. Her father tells KSL Newsradio he would like to personally thank the rescuers who tried to save his little girl.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
