A Vermont state trooper’s heroic rescue of an 8-year-old girl from an icy pond was captured on video after the officer plunged into the frigid waters to save the drowning child. It’s three minutes of heart-pounding footage that will have you on the edge of your seat, but be forewarned, it might be too disturbing for some viewers.
On December 17, 2023, the Vermont State Police received an emergency call about a small child who had plunged into a frigid pond on private property near where they lived in Cambridge, in northwestern Vermont. Trooper Michelle Archer was in the area and responded, arriving at the scene within minutes of the 911 call, according to The Blaze. What ensued was nothing short of heroic, and it was all captured on bone-chilling body cam video.
As seen in the footage, the Vermont State trooper retrieved a rope and flotation device from her police cruiser and hurried to the pond, where two sisters had been playing before the icy surface gave way and they fell into the freezing water, Live Now Fox reported. Thankfully, a nearby 80-year-old homeowner was able to pull the younger of the two girls to shore, but the elderly neighbor was unable to swim and couldn’t save the older sister. Instead, the elderly man had contacted the police.
On patrol only minutes away, Trooper Archer responded to that call and wasted no time attempting the daring rescue by herself. Although a bit difficult to spot in the footage, Trooper Archer easily noticed the girl’s motionless body in the middle of the pond. Despite the bitter cold temperatures, Archer dove into the frigid pond without hesitation. Armed with the flotation device, the brave trooper set out to retrieve the helpless 8-year-old girl from the icy water, admitting that she didn’t even take or need a moment to think.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of thinking going on. Something was taking over – training. It was the opposite of panic,” Trooper Michelle Archer told local outlet Vermont News First.
After Trooper Archer made the plunge into the frigid pond and began to swim through the murky waters, her body camera captured the unmistakable image of a small girl’s seemingly lifeless body, floating face down in the water. With the help of the flotation device that had been kept in the back of her cruiser, Trooper Archer pulled the child from the freezing pond onto the snowy shore, where—much to the relief of both the trooper and viewers alike—the child began to make noises, indicating she was alive.
After Trooper Michelle Archer successfully rescued the child, pulling her to shore after she had fallen through the ice, fellow Vermont State Trooper Keith Cote took the girl from Trooper Archer and began to render life-saving first aid. Meanwhile, Trooper Archer began removing her own water-logged clothes to prevent hypothermia. While the trooper warmed up, the child was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, WSVN reported.
After several days of treatment, the girl was released from the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont. Despite the life-threatening ordeal, she made a full recovery, thanks to three heroes who played important parts in her rescue. Trooper Michelle Archer, Trooper Keith Cote, and the property owner were all commended by Vermont State Police “for their selfless, heroic conduct” in the rescue effort, and all three received the state police’s Lifesaving Award for their actions. I don’t know about you, but I love a story with a happy ending, and this is one of them—thanks to three heroes who did not hesitate to do what they could to save a little girl.
