Deputy rescues woman in river

NEWPORT — A 60-year-old woman who fell through the ice on the Pend Oreille River on Thursday was rescued, according to sheriff’s officials.

Pend Oreille County Dispatch received a report shortly after 9 a.m. that two people and a dog appeared to fall through the ice on a stretch of river paralleling State Route 20.

Deputy Steve Beery and Sheriff Alan Botzheim raced to the scene and confirmed there was a woman in the water clinging to the ice, a news release said. After being submerged for more than 20 minutes, the woman’s voice was fading and she no longer had the strength to move her body.

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