2 Men Save Dad and His Young Sons from Drowning in Colorado River

“Saving lives sometimes comes down to being in the right place at the right time,” authorities said

Two men are being hailed as heroes after saving a father and his two sons from drowning in Colorado.

“Saving lives sometimes comes down to being in the right place at the right time,” the Grand County Sheriff's Search and Rescue said in a Facebook post on June 9.

In its caption, the department explained how a father's outing with his sons quickly took a dangerous turn when their inflatable kayak flipped over in the Colorado River. Luckily, two civilians intervened and got the family to safety, and a third snapped a photo of the rescue they’ll never forget.

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“A 40-year-old man was in an inflatable kayak with his 2 sons, 8 and 10 years old, when they flipped in whitewater upstream from a popular beach near Mile Marker 6 on Highway 128,” the organization said.

Moab, Utah resident Gaar Lausman, a former associate of the department, happened to be spending time at the beach and witnessed the incident unfold.

Per the post, Lausman lept into action, using his paddle board to help the children, but was unable to assist the father.

“The 10-year-old was reportedly wearing a belt-pack PFD that inflated with a C02 cartridge. That PFD had flipped the boy over so he was face down in the water."

The local agency added that the 8-year-old’s personal floatation device “was too big and failed to keep his head above water.” Still, Lausman retrieved the children.

With their dad still stuck in the water, trying his best to stay afloat, “life-long Moab resident Daniel Wright just happened to be traveling upstream on his jet ski.”

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Lausman flagged Wright down, getting his attention to ask for help pulling the father from the water. However, by this time, the man was hardly able to be seen due to factors such as the river’s fast currents.

“Wright had actually passed within a few feet of the man, who was almost completely submerged at the time and virtually unnoticeable because of the substantial amount of high-water debris,” the post said.

Wright spun his jet ski around and reached for the man just as he went underwater again while raising his hand in desperation. Moab resident Eric Odenthal snapped the accompanying photo at that moment,” the Facebook post added.

“I was just terrified, really, because the guy’s head was only partially out of the water, and as I was coming over to him, he went under a couple times,” Wright told Fox 13.

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Once all three members of the family were safely on dry land, they declined assistance from an ambulance.

“Grand County’s Emergency Services sincerely thanks Gaar Lausman and Daniel Wright for their life-saving efforts. Because of you, that family gets to go home,” the department said.

They also used the rescue as an opportunity to educate residents and readers on the importance of using “adequate, properly-fitted, and properly-worn PFDs everywhere on the Colorado River.”

“The river’s surface can appear deceptively calm, while violent currents just a few inches underwater can pull a swimmer down or sweep a person farther from shore,” they said.

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