Vermont police and an elderly neighbor are being hailed as heroes for their rescue of two young children who were trapped in the frigid waters of any icy pond, WPTZ-TV reports.
Footage of the dramatic December 17 incident, recorded on officers’ body cameras, was released Friday.
The video shows Vermont State Trooper Michelle Archer running toward a pond in Cambridge and then diving in to save an 8-year-old girl.
The child and her 6-year-old sibling had been playing around the private pond near their home when the ice broke apart.
“Just like an adrenaline rush almost before you even get there, something that you know you have to get there as soon as you can,” Archer said in an interview with WCAX-TV. “Something took over and I just kicked into gear. I don’t know if it was my training or instinct, but panic wasn’t a thought at that moment.”
An elderly neighbor had helped the younger sibling exit the water before Archer got to the scene. Archer was on patrol at the time of the call and responded within five minutes, according to WPTZ-TV.
After Archer got the older sibling out of the frigid water and onto land, the girl began uttering noises. By that time, Keith Cote, another trooper, had arrived and provided first aid to the girl before medics rushed her to a hospital.
“For Michelle to have carried this young girl with completely saturated clothes in the shape that she was in, as cold as she was, I don’t know if anybody would be able to do that,” Cote told WCAX-TV. “So, that I was dry and warm, priority of life for the little girl was number one.”
The girl has made a full physical recovery and was released from the University of Vermont Medical Center after several days. Archer was not injured during the rescue.
The Vermont State Police commended Archer, Cote and the elderly neighbor who helped with the rescue, all of them receiving the agency’s Lifesaving Award.
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[Feature Photo: Body camera footage shows the rescue of the children/Vermont State Police]
