Christopher Lee is 
feeling drained at Provo River (FB Post)
Another reason I hate Provo. Their river sucks too. Leave it up to me to mess up a perfect fishing spot.
Boys and I tubed the Provo last Sat with nice snow melt water right outta Deer Creek. Everyone elses tube worked but mine. I spent an hour on a deflated taco of a tube wit a delicious Christopher fillin chilled on ice. We wussed out on a bank before the final destination due to water temp.
Up ahead I noticed something odd and saw a paddleboard stuck wrapped on the railway bridge. I sprinted 100 yards downstream and my fears were confirmed. There was a women at serious risk to drown. I scaled down the bridge (with a broken wrist) right on her and was first on scene. I pinned her against the bridge so she could breathe. I needed a knife (lost two) and fought current to set her free.
Ranger W. Manis was there right when I Almost panicked myself and tag team stepped in and held her head out of current. After several attempts I found her leg and the coord. Yes! To my horror the I cut her paddleboard leash free but not Tiffany. Fast forward 20 min till some fit gentleman (Austin) with ropes lowered to the front of the bridge and after several attempts finally found her foot and got her free. Thats when I knew it was time to tap out. I hope her foot is ok and talk to her one day. Her husband shook my hand after. Officer Manis and I pulled Search and Rescue as they were MIA.
Once she was free I collapsed on the bank from exhaustion. I was wrapped by a litter bearer team and moved up the bank put on an gourney and taken to the ambulance and treated for a few lacerations, hypertension, contusions to my feet and prevent hypothermia. Lost sun glasses, two Pacifico’s and my prized bottle opener thongs. After 30 min of shaking and warming I went home with a bucket of Popeyes chicken to my hot-tub.
This is my fifth water save. Two river, one pool, lake and an ocean. Not including the Disabled Vets biffing surfing in La Jolla each year. I thank the Boy Scouts of America for the early training. Former BSA lifeguard here.
DNR ranger enters Provo River to help paddleboarder trapped under bridge
by: Sorina Trauntvein , ABC4.com
Posted: Jul 10, 2025
WASATCH COUNTY, Utah — Body-worn camera footage from a rescue on the Provo River has been released, showing how a ranger and bystanders helped save a woman who became trapped under a bridge. According to a press release from the Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Law Enforcement, on June 28, around 1:30 p.m., a ranger with the division was approached while on patrol. He was at the Trestle Bridge — located along the part of the Provo River in Wasatch County.
A citizen approached the ranger and said that a 45-year-old woman on a paddleboard had become trapped under the Trestle Bridge. The ranger and bystanders leaped into action and entered the river, where they held the woman’s head above the water until she was freed. In the video, the ranger can be seen entering the water with a knife to cut the woman free from the paddleboard. While he’s in the water helping hold the woman, he instructs a citizen to pick up his radio and tells him how to page search and rescue.
Rescuers and the woman were in the water for roughly 30 minutes, DNR says, and the water temperature averaged around 55 degrees. Wasatch County Search and Rescue and EMS responded and provided care to those involved. Bystanders offered up their blankets and sleeping bags to help with the hypothermic conditions.
“We thank Wasatch County Search and Rescue, EMS, and the many citizens for their successful efforts in this river rescue. We also acknowledge the life-saving efforts of our officers. They selflessly entered the water, risking their own lives to save another,” the DNR Division of Law Enforcement stated.
The DNR Division of Law Enforcement shared the following tips for summer river safety.
- Always wear an appropriate life jacket for river use.
- Research the river system to understand how to navigate it safely.
- If unsure of your abilities, consider going with a guide.
From Bill Hunt via FB - This is Deer Creek to Vivian Park on the lower Provo river, Utah. On the run description I see a fatality on the bridge in 2018 (a 2011 accident does not look like it was on that bridge). There have certainly been other close calls. If that bridge is still in use, it should be rebuilt without trestles in the water. Part of the problem is that the trestles are at an angle to the flow of the water, so paddlers cannot "float through straight", they must make a move right. That move is probably class 2+/3-, on a run that is generally class 2-.
