Man rescued from Clark Fork River
A Superior resident was pulled from the Clark Fork River on Friday evening, and was near death before being rescued. What started as a typical afternoon of fishing ended in near-tragedy after Jeramy Wilson, 40, went fishing near his home located northwest of town.
“My bobber got stuck under the ice,” he said on Sunday afternoon, “I stepped out onto the ice to get it and the ice broke.”
He slipped into the frigid water and was unable to pull himself out. Clinging to a sheet of ice, he anchored his feet into some rocks and held on for what he thinks may have been four hours. Submerged from his waist, waves and ice chunks hit him up to his shoulders, as he tried to stay afloat.
Wilson’s faint cries for help were finally heard by Superior volunteer firefighter, Randy Torrey, son of the fire chief, Rob Torrey. He had gotten home from his shift at Tricon Lumber, and had gone outside to feed horses. His home is located on the south side of the river, near the baseball fields, and the property skirts the water’s edge.
Grabbing his flashlight, he followed the cries for help a few yards down along the river. There he saw Wilson across the water. He then quickly called the sheriffs. Sergeant A.J. Allard and Deputy Eric Elliott arrived and rushed to the other side of the river toward Wilson, guided down the rocky terrain by Torrey’s light on the other side.
By the time they reached Wilson, he was slipping in and out of consciousness.
“I don’t really remember very much of what happened,” he said. He remembers them pulling him out, but little else.
“It was very rough terrain, with deep snow and a narrow walkway. It was hard to maneuver him back up the bank,” Allard said.
Wilson was located near the septic treatment plant, about 200 yards from his home where he lives with his parents, Carol and Gilbert Wilson. Ambulance EMT workers, including Pat Matzke and Angie Coleman, along with her nephew, Eric, were waiting to take him to the Mineral Community Hospital.
He was released Sunday afternoon and his father said Wilson was still weak from his trauma when he agreed to give an interview.
“The river is beautiful, but it can be so dangerous,” Wilson said. “I just want to be a reminder to everyone that they need to be careful out there. I never want anyone to ever go through what I did.”
He also thanked all of his rescuers in an emotional statement, “‘Thank you’ doesn’t seem strong enough words for what they did. I owe a lot of people a lot of gratitude. And I thank God every couple of minutes for being alive.”
He was treated for severe hypothermia and was told that if it had been much longer, he may not have made it out alive. Wilson suffered nerve damage in his hands, arms and legs. Doctors are hoping for a near full recovery, but only time will tell the full extent of his injuries.
“It was a good team effort,” Allard said. “The EMTs are volunteers and deserve a lot of credit for their dedication, and the community should be proud of their efforts.”
Torrey was glad to hear that Wilson was doing OK, but refused to be called a hero.
“I just was doing my part for the community,” he said.
After the incident, Wilson’s father, Gilbert, said he returned to the scene to retrieve his son’s cellphone. As he looked down at the sheet of ice his son had clung to for so long, it broke off and floated away, down the frigid waters. A somber reminder of just how easily this could have ended in tragedy.