BARSTOW, Wash. — Families worked together to accomplish what game officials and police could not on Christmas Eve: rescuing an elk that had fallen through the ice into the Kettle River.
Rylee Stuart told KXLY her husband had gone hunting for coyotes with his brother when they came upon the elk in the river.
In a Facebook post, Stuart describes calling police and game wardens, who refused to come help. Police told her there were no officers available for a rescue, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife initially suggested leaving the elk alone and letting nature run its course, The Spokesman-Review reported.
Update Another video of our Christmas Eve Elk Rescue 2021 Barstow WA kettle river. A little back story incase some...
Posted by Rylee Stuart on Friday, December 24, 2021
In Stuart’s Facebook post, she says a game warden eventually came to help, along with other volunteers who helped pull a total of 12 elk out of the water, but only six survived. The rescue took from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. In the post Stuart said: “I’m pretty sure we have a broken hand and possible a broken foot and a bruised back and sore noggin from getting kicked in the back and head by a cow Elk for trying to hook a calf up to pull it up the bank in the group but those are the only injuries other than being sore and maybe a couple cuts or scrapes.” She ended the post by thanking everyone involved with the rescue, including those who brought blankets and warm drinks.
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