An Alaskan mother of four is presumed to have died after she went missing while trying to swim under the ice of a frozen river to rescue her dog which fell during a hike she was taking with her husband. Amanda Richmond Rogers, 45, and her husband, Brian Rogers, were hiking with their two dogs along the North Fork Eagle River trail near Anchorage on Saturday.
It was their 18th wedding anniversary and they were enjoying the walk when their dog, Groot, fell through a small hole in the ice of the frozen Eagle River after stopping to take a drink. Both Brian and Amanda followed it into the river.
Missing and Presumed Dead
"I thought I saw a flash of a big white paw underneath the ice. Before even thinking, I was jumping into the water to save our dog. I held onto the edge of the ice as I frantically ducked under the ice reaching into darkness trying to feel and grab our dog. I felt nothing," Brian said in a statement released by the family, the Alaska Daily News reported.
"She did not jump in to save 'just a dog', it was a family member," Rogers, 49, added in the statement.
"To me and our four boys she died a hero."
Relatives were heading to the family's nearby home for the first Christmas since the death of Amanda's father earlier in the year.
The couple had visited friends along the North Fork Eagle River Trailhead route and were enjoying an "amazing time" in one of Amanda's favorite places, Rogers said.
However, their joy turned into horror when their beloved Irish Wolfhound toppled through the hole, prompting them to rush across the ice.
"I thought I saw a flash of a big white paw underneath the ice," Rogers said.
"Before even thinking, I was jumping into the water to save our dog. I held onto the edge of the ice as I frantically ducked under the ice reaching into darkness trying to feel and grab our dog.
After Brian got out of the freezing water without locating Groot, he witnessed his wife, an emergency room nurse, jumping in desperately trying to find their beloved pet.
"I felt nothing. I ran out of breath and jumped out of the opening. I took four steps downstream to look for the dog through the ice again. I turned around and Amanda was getting into the water.
"I knew from the look on her face she was going in to save our dog."
Died for Her Dog
Brian said that he yelled at her, but it's likely she didn't hear him as she swam under the ice and out of sight. "Amanda loved her dogs nearly as much as our kids, they were our family," he wrote, adding that his wife "did not jump in to save 'just a dog,' it was a family member. To me and our 4 boys she died a hero."
The Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team, along with the Solstice Search and Rescue K9 Team and the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, launched a rescue effort, as reported by KTUU.
The search for the Eagle River woman had to be called off by rescuers around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday due to frozen equipment. However, operations were expected to resume on Wednesday.
"We will go through and see if there's other areas of interest, [areas] we still need to search, and then make a decision on what type of search strategy or search tactics we might deploy tomorrow," Department of Public Safety spokesman Austin McDaniel told KTUU on Tuesday.
Her husband said that the hike was meant to be a "special" day for their family.
"It was the first Christmas we were celebrating since the passing of Amanda's father earlier in the year. We wanted to make it special for visiting family and our 4 boys," Brian wrote.
"After spending time with her mother and sister the previous two days, the 23rd was our day. We were married on December 23, 2005, making this our 18th anniversary," he wrote, adding that the couple planned to take their two dogs for a walk.
"We were having an amazing time watching the dogs play, playing with the dogs ourselves, and admiring the beauty of outdoor Alaska during the winter," he recounted.
Brian said that, besides being a nurse, his wife also worked as a death scene investigator.
"She enjoyed the outdoors, her family, all animals, and adventure. She has touched so many people's lives for the better. I could go on and on and on. She was a beautiful person with a beautiful soul," he wrote.
