Girl Safe after River Scare

A Salina police officer and a private citizen helped pull a scared and exhausted teen from the water to safety earlier this week.

Police Captain Paul Forrester tells KSAL News that on Tuesday evening a 14-year-old girl was playing in the ditch just north of Bill Burke Park and was swept by the current into the Smoky Hill River channel.

Police say the girl was near the bank, clinging to a rock and paralyzed with fear as the two approached her.

They waded through the water and finally convinced her to let go, stand up and walk to safety.