Casper Fire-EMS Successfully Rescues Woman on North Platte Ice

Officials with Casper Fire-EMS say emergency personnel successfully rescued an unidentified woman stranded on a North Platte River ice shelf late Wednesday night.

Casper Fire-EMS spokesperson Craig Kidder says rescuers donning specialized ice suits arrived at the scene near a river-spanning F Street bridge shortly after 10:45 p.m.

“One rescue swimmer rappelled off the bridge and made access to the patient and secured (her), just in case if that ice shelf were to break,” Kidder said.

Kidder says the woman was then loaded into a specialized ice raft and transported to safety.

Authorities haven't determined yet how the woman found herself on the ice shelf. Both the woman and rescuers left the scene uninjured.

Kidder says, currently, the ice on the North Platte is extremely unstable.

“It was a pretty good outcome, considering the situation and the danger involved with the ice shelf and the moving body of water underneath,” Kidder said. “It’s a 10 out of 10 – it’s extremely unforgiving.”