Mother, son rescued from McDonald Creek

A woman and her 8-year-old son from Washington were rescued from Upper McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park on Aug. 17.

Park spokesperson Denise Germann said the family was walking along the creek near Red Rock Point around 11:40 a.m. when the boy fell in and the woman went in after him. Both floated down the creek for a short distance, Germann said.

The woman's husband later said his wife didn't know how to swim, but his son had taken lessons and remained calm throughout the incident, even holding up his mother part of the time.

The man called for help, found someone to hold on to his 5-year-old son and then jumped into the creek along with a Park visitor from Texas he knew only as Dave. The father reached his son, and both were pulled out of the creek by others on the shore.

The man named Dave got to the mother and brought her to shore, but he wasn't breathing and was unconscious, according to Germann.

Three people performed CPR, and the woman revived. A doctor and two nurses who were in the area assisted in treating the woman for hypothermia.

Rangers arrived, and the woman was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center by the ALERT helicopter. She was conscious and oriented during the helicopter ride and in stable condition at the hospital the next day, her husband said.

Drowning is the leading cause of death in Glacier Park, and the husband suggested the Park put up a sign near a well-used path along the creek warning visitors that rocks along the shore are slippery.