Bodycam video caught the moment a good Samaritan in Moorhead, North Dakota, saved a man who had fallen through the ice of a river on Feb. 5.
The rescuer, David Vander Ark, was walking his dog early in the morning along the Red River when he heard someone yelling for help, local outlet KFGO reported Wednesday.
Despite being momentarily distracted by the sound of a nearby train, Vander Ark was able to find the man, who was clinging to the ice in the river, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Father Dies Saving Son Who Fell Through Ice, Deputy Saves Mother, Police Say)
Probstfield parent and PTAC board member, David Vander Ark, was a hero this week as he found and helped rescue a man who had fallen in the river.https://t.co/K7mTmK8ZHJ pic.twitter.com/vet4Z8Orcq
— Probstfield Elementary (@ProbsElemSpuds) February 12, 2024
“As soon as the train passed, I could really hear somebody yell for help,” Vander Ark said. “Right then is when I ran across the road towards Main Avenue and started dialing 911. While I was on the phone with dispatch, I was communicating back and forth with the guy.”
Vander Ark, who noted the swift police response, added that “[b]y the time I got to the bridge that he was under, I saw a police officer. We pretty much met at the river bank.”
He said that he then began looking for something to use to fish the man out of the water “and luckily right at my feet was that stick that miraculously was the perfect length for us to get out there and he was able to grab ahold of it,” Valley News Live reported.
Vander Ark, working with the officer who arrived on the scene, rescued the man, according to KFGO.
Once the man was safely out of the water and being attended to by first responders, Vander Ark went home and got his daughters ready for school as usual, Valley News Live reported.
Vander Ark said he doesn’t consider himself a hero, according to the outlet.
“Nothing I’m sure anybody else in the same situation would have done the exact same thing, I just happened to be out here that morning,” he said, according to Valley News Live.
Vander Ark’s daughter apparently thinks otherwise, the outlet reported.
“My daughter ran right to her art table and made me a little reward, #1 water rescuer,” he said, according to Valley News Live.