A search of icy river bodies began Thursday night after two adults tried saving a 6-year-old boy who had fallen into the water's current at Big Sioux River at Falls Park in South Dakota, Star Tribune reports March 15.
The young child was climbing on some rocks at first, but he fell into the fast-moving water. A woman nearby -- believed to be his sister -- jumped in to help him. Soon a man also jumped, but the pair were swept away by the freezing water. Crews are now doing a recovery search for the bodies instead of a rescue search of the individuals who disappeared into the icy river Thursday.
As for the 6-year-old boy, he was able to get out of the icy water. It's unclear if the heroic attempts by the two adults helped to push the boy ashore if he popped up on a rock. He was taken away from the scene uninjured and wrapped in a blanket. Authorities say the boy wasn't in the river that long.
A friend of the man who jumped in, Napoleon Ducheneaux, said he jumped in to save the boy and the woman. He was holding their hands, then suddenly his just "slipped" and he "disappeared."
Rescuers have been working against strong currents in the river in addition to large, thick sheets of ice and foam to find the bodies.
Identities of the victims have not been released.
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