Training mission in Sierra becomes real-life rescue
This hole, slightly smaller than a manhole cover, is what what Samantha White fell into on Feb. 21. Photo/Marin County Sheriff’s Department
By Jodi Hernandez, NBC Bay Area
A Marin County Sheriff’s Office search-and-rescue crew is credited with saving the life of a 10-year-old girl.
Officials said the girl on Feb. 21 fell into a 10-foot hole after a snow bridge she was on gave way in the Sierra. The search-and-rescue team just happened to be hiking down the same trail after spending the day training when it came across the incident at Castle Peak in the Tahoe National Forest.
“The snow just swallowed her up,” said Hilda White, mother of the rescued girl. “It was perfect timing that they happened to be coming down from the peak and happened upon my husband within 15 minutes of her falling in.”