Two people were missing and drowned after they attempted to rescue a boy who disappeared in a sea of foam.
Sioux Falls firefighters responded to a water rescue March 14, 2013 involving three people. Two rescuers died, but the boy somehow escaped the ice cold water after he was held by the citizen rescuers. It is uncertain if the boy was rescued or if he eventually escaped on his own after the citizen rescuers succumbed to icy, swift waters.
A 6-year-old boy, who slipped into the Big Sioux River, was able to escape the cold, foamy waters alive. But his sister, Madison Wallace, 16, and bystander Lyle Eagletail, 28, who jumped into the river to attempt to rescue the boy did not survive. The surging, icy water contained debris, and was covered with several feet of foam on the surface.
Lyle Eagle Tail jumped in to rescue the garrett Martin Wallace and his sister Madison Leigh Wallace. The two rescuers succumbed to the swift current and were obscured in thick foam. Six-year-old Martin Wallace somehow survived.
A third citizen rescuer, Napoleon Ducheneaux had a hold of Lyle Eagletail, but the surging water and slippery foam caused both to lose their grips on each other.
Boy, 6, Saved From Raging South Dakota River. The boy’s two rescuers vanished in the dangerous waters.
City of Sioux Falls Fire Rescue has an informative, well-designed website describing their Fire Rescue agency. The fire department also has deployed the Pulse Point Apple iOS and Android app that uses GPS location technology to alert citizens with the app when they are in walking distance of a nearby cardiac emergency. The app also notifies citizens with the app the whereabouts of the nearest AED — Automated External Defibrillator.
See also …
City of Sioux Falls Fire Rescue
