'Water to my neck': Sask. woman called a hero after saving boy who fell through ice
Elaine Ratt fell through the ice herself during her rescue effort
A northern Saskatchewan woman is being called a hero after risking her own life to save a drowning boy.
Elaine Ratt, a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, had no idea what was coming as she clocked in for her shift at the Sucker River Community Store on Sunday. Her shift was abruptly interrupted by a young panicked boy who rushed in begging for help.
"The fear in [his] eyes scared me," Ratt said.
Ratt rushed after the boy, dialing 911 as he led her to Sucker River Lake, where his friend had fallen through the ice as they were playing.
"I see that he's still above water and that he was struggling," Ratt said. "I went to the edge right where the ice was. I just kept telling the boy, 'keep your head above water, keep your head above water.'"
Ratt said she carefully walked onto the thin ice toward the boy, but heard the sounds of cracking beneath her. She got onto her hands and knees and began crawling.
"By the time I was getting toward him, he was already starting to float down underneath the water," she said.
Ratt said the ice got thinner the closer she got to the boy. It broke and she plunged into the icy water.
She said her only focus was getting the boy out of the water, despite the danger.
Ratt said she hoisted the boy onto a solid patch of ice and made sure that he was responsive. He was able to roll toward the shore.
Only then did she turn her attention to her own situation.
"It was a shock. It didn't click to me how deep the water was going to be when I went in," Ratt said.
"I was kind of afraid that I couldn't get out because every time I tried to get out of the water, [the ice] kept breaking. The water was up to my neck."
She finally managed to lift her upper body out and swing her leg over the ice just enough to get up.
Ratt said she then tried to get the boy back to the store, where he could warm up, but he was so cold his legs weren't working properly.
"So I carried him, with all my soaking clothes and his soaking clothes."
RCMP met up with her at the store. Sucker River is in a remote area about 20 kilometres north of Lac La Ronge, so officers didn't arrive until about 20 minutes after her phone call, Ratt said. The Sucker River Fire Department also arrived on scene.
She said she has always seen young kids playing around the store and near the water. As a mother herself, Ratt said she couldn't imagine anything bad happening to the boy.
"It was more of a reflex. I don't want to see this little boy down the river or something worse happening to him," Ratt said. "So I would rather we risk my life than his.
"Growing up in the North, that's always one of my biggest fears, kids going on ice and falling through."
The boy was transported to the La Ronge hospital in an ambulance. His grandmother later updated Ratt, telling her that his body temperature had finally been regulated to its normal levels.
This isn't the first time that Sucker River has pulled a child under. Four years ago a six-year-old boy was swept away and drowned due to the water's strong currents.
Ratt said that she's grateful the outcome was different this time around. Despite her heroic actions, she remained humble and said there's another hero in this story who deserves as much recognition as her.
"I'm just really thankful for the little boy that came running for help," said Ratt. "If it wasn't for him, we would totally be in a different place."'
Lac La Ronge Chief Tammy Cook-Searson, who arrived on scene shortly after the boy had been pulled out of the water, agreed.
"The one that went up for help, he's a hero too," Cook-Searson said. "If he didn't go ask for help then we wouldn't have known."
Cook-Searson said she was on her way to Stanley Mission when multiple RCMP vehicles headed toward Sucker River caught her attention. She followed them and learned of Ratt's heroic actions.
Ratt headed back to the store after going home to get a dry change of clothes. When she got out of her truck, Cook-Searson and the emergency crews applauded for her. Cook-Searson said the applause moved Ratt to tears.
"She saved his life and she deserves a medal," Cook-Searson said. "She's our hero."
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