GRANDIN, N.D. (KFGO) – The Traill County and Cass County Sheriff’s Offices rescued two men from the Elm River early Saturday morning. Deputies responded to an area of the river a half-mile north of the Cass County border around 5:00 a.m.
When they arrived on scene deputies found the two men stranded in a pickup that was completely surrounded by water.
Traill County Sheriff Steve Hunt told KFGO News, “An attempt to reach the two men in the vehicle was first made by using an aerial ladder truck from the Grandin Fire Department. They were unable to reach the pickup it was too far out. So we requested the assistance of Cass County. They brought their two airboats and they were able to extricate the two men from the truck.”
Hunt says the men believe their truck entered the river around 2:00 a.m. Dispatch received the call three hours later. The men were identified as 34-year-old Eric Kent and 33-year-old Chad Erickson both from Gradin, ND. They told Hunt they were driving along and didn’t realize the water was in the roadway until it was too late and they were being swept downstream.
Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner tells KFGO News although I-29 was closed his deputies were able to travel north and reach the scene with the rescue boats, “We were pretty lucky. Snowplows were working on I-29 so the freeway was passable for us at that point.”
Jahner says the point he and Sheriff Hunt want to get across to the public is to abide by the no travel advisories that are issued in bad weather. “We’ve had a lot of rain and snow as of recent,” Jahner said, “These types of situations put people in danger including our first responder.”
The Traill County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the situation. Kent and Erickson were treated and released on scene. A tow truck was able to remove their pickup from the river by winching it out.