October 6, 2025 • 34 mins
The Logan Canyon Scenic Byway is both breathtaking and treacherous. In May 2020, Raechel Mitchell set out with her children for a day trip to Bear Lake. Things took a dark turn when a simple bottle of vitamin water slipped beneath her van’s pedals, and in seconds, her vehicle veered off the road and plunged into the icy Logan River.
As water rushed in, Raechel awoke to the screams of her children as the van was swept downstream—before miraculously lodging against something unseen. Trapped inside as frigid rapids roared around them, Raechel fought to keep her children calm while rescuers on shore scrambled for a plan. With no cell service, strangers with radios, ropes, and kayaks stepped forward to help.
For more than five hours, the family sat in freezing water as firefighters and volunteers risked their lives to reach them. One by one, Raechel’s children were pulled to safety; and then she was finally rescued—blue-lipped, bloodied, and exhausted, but alive.
What should have been tragedy became a story of courage, community, and what many witnesses could only call a miracle.
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If you're a fan of true crime but crave a dose of inspiration instead of tales of darkness, The Miracle Files is your perfect alternative. With the same storytelling intensity as true crime podcasts, The Miracle Files delves into the details of each miraculous story, exploring the people and circumstances that turned these moments into something unforgettable.
Whether you believe in divine intervention or human perseverance, this podcast will leave you feeling uplifted and amazed.
Website: www.themiraclefiles.com
Podcast/RSS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-miracle-files/id1714203488
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_miracle_files_podcast
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As water rushed in, Raechel awoke to the screams of her children as the van was swept downstream—before miraculously lodging against something unseen. Trapped inside as frigid rapids roared around them, Raechel fought to keep her children calm while rescuers on shore scrambled for a plan. With no cell service, strangers with radios, ropes, and kayaks stepped forward to help.
For more than five hours, the family sat in freezing water as firefighters and volunteers risked their lives to reach them. One by one, Raechel’s children were pulled to safety; and then she was finally rescued—blue-lipped, bloodied, and exhausted, but alive.
What should have been tragedy became a story of courage, community, and what many witnesses could only call a miracle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you're a fan of true crime but crave a dose of inspiration instead of tales of darkness, The Miracle Files is your perfect alternative. With the same storytelling intensity as true crime podcasts, The Miracle Files delves into the details of each miraculous story, exploring the people and circumstances that turned these moments into something unforgettable.
Whether you believe in divine intervention or human perseverance, this podcast will leave you feeling uplifted and amazed.
Website: www.themiraclefiles.com
Podcast/RSS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-miracle-files/id1714203488
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_miracle_files_podcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.phpid=100093613416005&mibextid=LQQJ4d
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.miracle.files?_t=8rB5ooQd482&_r=1
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The van slammed the turbulent river. From inside came the
terrified screams of Rachel's children.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And it was so loud.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
The water was coming up over the windshield, and I
just I didn't know what to do. All of the
airbags had gone off. My children clearly were very distraught.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Rachel took a deep breath. She looked around at her kids.
The van began.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Moving, you know, I hear them all screaming.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
The current had them now pushing the van backwards, shoving
it downstream toward even larger rapids. This is the Miracle Files.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
I'm Emily Jones and I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters
who love a captivating true story, but we're also seeking
more light in our lives.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable,
uplifting stories of God's miracles. We hope you'll join us
on this journey.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Welcome back to the Miracle Files. Emily found this story
that we have today in a Facebook group.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Yes I did.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I actually was scrolling through Facebook and I saw this
woman post about this experience. She'd actually been there that day,
she'd seen all these miracles, and when I hear the
word miracle, obviously it piqued my interests. So I went
and looked into this story and I just knew it
was one that we.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Had to share.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Well, I'm so glad you found it. The mother in
this story, Rachel, is awesome. Talk about a warrior mama,
Like she's such a fierce advocate and protector of her children.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yea, we'd ever definitely see that all throughout this story. So,
I mean, I think a lot of parents out there
will probably be able to relate to this and feel
for her.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5 (01:45):
It's an incredible story. So let's get started.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
Let's get to it.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
The Logan Canyon, scenic by weight, is beautiful and dangerous.
It's towering green pine trees lined the Logan River, which
winds beside the narrow two lane road. In the spring,
the river's churning whitewater swells with snow melt. On a
May morning in twenty twenty, Rachel Mitchell set out with
her four children. She drove into the canyon, looking forward
(02:16):
to meeting her boyfriend and his son at their final destination.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
Bear Lake.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
She brought four of her five children with her. Cody,
almost sixteen, Kaylee fourteen, Liam five, and Camden four here's Rachel.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
We got ready to go.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
We would headed up through Logan Canyon and there's a
Maverick we stopped at just to get snacks. They all
wanted whatever, and I remember I wanted a vitamin water.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
So I got myself a vitamin water.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
A simple bottle of vitamin water. It seemed so innocent
at the time. It was supposed to be a carefree,
fun family day. Who knew that something so simple as
a bottle to drink could be the undoing of it all.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
And I was driving a mini van at the time,
and the minivan in the center console there was like
this place where you could set your things, but it
was on the floor, and I had my purse there
and I had set my vitamin water in my purse,
and my son had set his snacks and he was
in the front seat. And so he was headed up
to the canyon that goes to Bear Lake and it's
(03:21):
very windy. I had never driven that canyon before, and
there was a lot of people, a lot of cars,
a lot of things going on.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Rachel drove her van around a turn and just like that,
the vitamin water tumbled out of her purse and rolled
onto the floorboard beneath her.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And the vitamin water had fallen out of my purse
and was lodged underneath my pedals, and my son reached
over and was trying to get it.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Cody stretched his fingers, he almost had the bottle, but
it stayed just beyond his grasp. Rachel leaned down too,
reaching for it with her own hand, but suddenly another
turn in the road appeared before them. Rachel didn't have
time to react. The van didn't turn. It launched straight
off the road, fifteen feet down and into the icy
(04:11):
waters below.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And we missed turning because I couldn't do anything. And
then just awfully went into the river, and immediately I
blacked out.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
The van slammed into the turbulent river.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Air bags deployed, and water exploded over the hood. From
inside came the terrified screams of Rachel's children in the
driver's seat. Rachel lay slumped over the wheel, motionless. When
Rachel came to, she was disoriented. She didn't see water.
At first, she felt it freezing, rising, pushing it surrounded her,
(04:50):
seeping into her vehicle. Her mind struggled to grasp reality
as she felt fear taking hold.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Then Rachel felt something else.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
A voice side her, urging her rolled the window down.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Now, I remember, I didn't see anything. I just remember
roll the window down. I knew I was in water,
like roll the window down. Just after that, none of
them worked. I tried to roll down other ones. Everything
went completely dead. But it was just this weird roll
the window down. Get that rolled down.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
The van was facing upriver and somehow it was upright.
Somehow it hadn't landed on its side or rolled yet.
Rachel took a deep breath. She looked around at her kids.
For now they were okay, but the moment of reprieve
was gone. Before it started. The van began moving. Her
(05:42):
children screamed behind her, high.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
Pitched and panicked.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
The current had them now pushing the van backwards, shoving
it downstream toward even larger rapids. And then a violent
jolt and the motion stopped.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And then we got lot and I believe we were
lodged on a pretty good sized rock, and I just
I didn't know what to do. All of the airbags
had gone off. My children clearly were very distraught. My
daughter in the very back. It was in the third row.
When the air bag went off, it put a big
old gash in her thigh.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
As the freezing rapids roared around her, Rachel tried to
assess her situation.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
And it was so loud.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
The water was coming up over the windshield. Ironically, we
were going to Bear Lake. So I had life jackets,
and so I had my daughter grab the life jackets.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
We got them on the little ones.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
You know, I hear them all screaming. At that point,
I was just like in mom mode, trying to like
keep my kids calm, and I put my boys, my
younger boys. I could put my feet on the tippy toes,
and my tops of my thighs.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Weren't in the water because the water was freezing, and.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
So I had them like sitting up on my thighs
so that they they weren't submerged because it was for
freezing cold.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Inside the van, water crept higher around them. As Rachel
and her kids sat frozen in fear, the river roared
like a freight train. In their ears, airbags hung like
crumpled sails. Rachel encouraged her children to sit very still.
For now the vehicle had come to a stop, but
it was a fragile pause. Rachel feared one wrong move
(07:26):
could dislodge them from the rock and the current could
carry them further downstream. Just one hundred yards below them,
the river dropped into a mile long stretch of Class
four rapids, violent swirling water that would almost certainly flip
the van. Rachel knew that staying put was their only
(07:46):
chance for survival. Above them, on the shoulder of the road,
a crowd gathered trying to shout to Rachel, but she
couldn't hear them. The river was too loud. There was
no cell service in the canyon. Everyone who arrived on
scene could see how precarious Rachel's situation was, but as
much as people wanted to help, they didn't know what
to do. They needed to call nine one one, but
(08:09):
with no reception, that wasn't an option. But just then
someone stepped forward. This man was an amateur radio enthusiast,
and incredibly he had his radio with him that day,
he was able to call out for help with great difficulty.
Police and fire trucks made their way up the canyon,
passed the lines of traffic now caused by everyone stopping
(08:32):
to try to help. As each new person even firefighters
would arrive and see the van in the river, they
would have the same expression. Every one of them knew
this wasn't good, and rescuing this mother and her children
in time before their van dislodged and tumbled downstream wasn't
going to be easy. In fact, they feared one wrong
(08:54):
move on their part could cause the van to dislodge
and disappear into the current. On the shore, a news
reporter held a camera. His name was Brian Champagne. His
car had been stopped three miles away in a long
line of traffic down the canyon. But Brian had been
training for a five k and when he'd heard about
all the commotion on his radio scanner, he knew he
(09:17):
had to find out what was happening, so he started running.
Brian had worked in California for years in broadcast TV
news and had seen a lot of crazy things, but
this incident would be one he would never forget. Here's Brian, and.
Speaker 7 (09:31):
I first laid eyes on that van just in the
middle of the river. This was May, so the river
was at its second highest level of the entire year.
So I finally go up there and I start shooting
my way in so I'm getting wide shots as I
move up, and then finally like I see that there's
this family in this van and the waters coming up
to the windshield.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Somehow, the firefighters needed to get the mother and children
out of the van and onto dry land, but no
one could waigh or even swim into the whitewater. Maybe
if they had some kind of rope they could make
a pulley system. Even that would be dangerous, but it
didn't matter either way. They didn't have any rope that
would work. At that moment. More people began stepping forward
(10:15):
from the crowd. Amazingly, some men on mountain bikes pulled up.
They had been rock climbing and had repelling rope with them.
Then Mark Nelson and his buddies arrived on scene. They
were kayakers who had their kayaks with them and were
trained and ready. Within minutes, a group of volunteers had
formed to help. As Mark the kayaker surveyed the scene,
(10:36):
he realized immediately the danger Rachel was in.
Speaker 8 (10:39):
Here's Mark kind of a difficult situation obviously, that she's
right above the biggest whitewater for a mile that we
could do. So we had come back up and when
we got there. The fire department arrived and we went
up to the person in charge of the fire department
and said, hey, we've got experience. We can help you
(11:01):
in any way, shape or form that we can.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
The firefighters eye to the kayakers and discussed their options.
Speaker 8 (11:07):
They kind of assess the situation and he comes back
to us and he says, the number one issue that
we have is that we can't get a rope from
this side of the river to the other side. And
I said, I can get that rope across for you
in about ten seconds. So he said, all right, let's
do it. Me and my friend instantly, we just grab
our kayaks. We rig up the ropes and everything that
we were doing, and both me and my friend paddle
(11:28):
across right above where the van was and enter into
one of the eddies. Eddie is a side of the
river where the water actually flows upriver instead of flowing
down as it hits the side, and so we were
able to safely paddle into that and set up a
rope system and tried to get some of the firefighters
and things over.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
The kayakers were able to get the rope across the
river with ease, but as is often the case, in life.
After that, things didn't go according to plan. Rachel and
her kids watched as one of the firefighters tried to
make his way across, attached to the rope.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
I remember watching in just like complete and utter terror.
It scared the living daylights out of me, because they
had him walk out into the river up above us.
I think he was going to try to sort of
float down to us, and man, he just went under instantly.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
As Mark and his friend stood on the far bank,
they quickly realized the rope sagged with too much slack.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
Here's Mark.
Speaker 8 (12:24):
We had set up the rope system and one of
the firefighters, unfortunately, as he was coming across, went into
one of the small rapids that was there and actually
ended up getting pulled underwater. He was probably about three
feet away from us, but when he got pulled underwater,
because he was attached to the rope, it held him underwater.
And your life jackets they're designed to have a breakaway
(12:46):
system where you can pull a little string and it
will release the rope so that you don't get into
that situation. Unfortunately, he couldn't find that little breakaway system.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Mark and his friend watched as the firefighter struggled beneath
the surface of the water. As critical as the situation
was for the family, it now became far more urgent
for the firefighter.
Speaker 7 (13:06):
So when deals.
Speaker 8 (13:07):
Underwater, me and my friend instantly responded to that, and
my friend got out as far as he could. I
held on to him so he could get out further
into the current, and we were able to pull on
the rope and get him up high enough that we
grabbed him and pulled him in, which was one of
the craziest things that we did.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Thankfully, the firefighter had been rescued, but unfortunately the rescue
team was no closer.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
To helping the family.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Now what they needed to devise a new plan to
save Rachel and her children, but there were no easy answers.
Minutes ticked by turning into ours. As Rachel and her
children sat in the middle of a river in the
frigid whitewater, something strange was occurring to them. Their panic
began to settle. Instead, a feeling difficult to describe filled
(13:56):
the van. While Rachel knew the danger was far from over, somehow,
Rachel and her children felt a quiet sense of peace.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
So I just kept focusing on my kids and honestly,
there was this weird calm. We just talked and my
little ones, you know, they were nervous, they were scared
every now and again.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
It was like up and down. You know. They were
kind of like hysterical one moment and then they'd becolm
the next moment.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
We're just talking about different things, random stuff. School we
were talking about, you know, because my older son he
was due to get his driver's license soon, so that
was less than stellar getting in an accident like that.
So you know, we just kind of sort of talked
through everything.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Rescue workers decided to try to get a raft to
Rachel and her kids.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Again, the kayakers helped.
Speaker 8 (14:50):
We tried a few different things to get them out,
but they were in really really swift water, and as
the water was going around the car, it was creating
a really awkward current. So when we tried to set
up a system to get the raft down, the raft
couldn't get close enough and stable enough for us to
get anybody out because of this really powerful swirly current.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Despite the repeated rescue attempts falling short, Rachel was amazed
at how well her children were doing. Still, they were
beginning to get restless. Though they remained mostly calm, Rachel
couldn't help but feel anxious. With every small movement. The
constant fear of dislodging her van remained ever present in
her mind.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
I was absolutely terrified to move at any point in time.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I just told him.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
I was like, hey, everybody sits still, Let's just not move.
And I just sat there with my boys for quite
a long time. They were on my lap. As time
went on and I had to move them, I had
to rearrange. I just was like, it's not moving. This
thing is not moving. But every now and again it
seemed like there was like a.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Whoof and it would kind of go way up the windshield.
That was always terrifying.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
By now, they'd been trapped in the icy river for
over three hours. Each minute that passed felt like an eternity,
and the window of rescue was closing fast. The longer
they remained in the river, the more certain it became.
Hypothermia wasn't just a threat, it was closing in. Rachel
(16:16):
sat shivering, her legs cold and numb as she held
her children, trying to boost them above the frigid water.
She was willing to sacrifice her comfort or even her
own life.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
To protect them.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
The rescue workers put their heads together and came up
with a new plan.
Speaker 8 (16:33):
Eventually, what ended up happening is they brought a truck
with a ladder, and it took them, I don't know,
maybe an hour to get that truck up to the canyon.
But they were able to set that truck up with
the ladder and swing it out over the top of
the river and actually repel one of the fire fighters
down again.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
The firefighters used the ropes the rock climbers had given them.
The rock climbers helped with the rigging, and the Kai
eckers paddled against the current, fighting to stay near Rachel's vehicle.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And then they had rigged up a whole bunch of stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
They had ropes on the ladders, and they had a
guy come out on the ladder and he was talking
to me. They wanted to drop me a toe rope.
It was really thick and heavy, and I was like, okay,
I can do that, but I needed to break the
other window. So I had my son climb in the back,
(17:27):
and I had my little boys. They kind of had
to stand with them, so they all kind of got
in the back.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
One of the firemen dropped a sharp rock into Rachel's
open window and shouted to her to use it to
break the passenger side window.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I had no idea how difficult it was to break
the window, and then as soon as the window broke,
it hit my thighs and just all this blood went everywhere,
and my kids were just hysterical because it was like
just leaking down the back of the car because the
water was going that way, and I was just like,
it's okay, We're okay.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Rachel slid her bloody thighs into the water as the
blood slowly diluted, her kids calmed down again. With her
children settled, Rachel turned her attention back to the firefighter,
waiting to see what he needed her to do next.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
And what I had to do was they needed to
drop the tow rope to me through the one side,
and then I had to get it through the other
side and throw it over. And when they dropped it,
it went down the river, and so I had to
pull this thing back into the car.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Which was like so difficult.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I just it was so heavy, and I just didn't
think I was going to get it in, and so
I eventually I got to the end of it, I
pulled it in and I flinged it around and they
were able to like stabilize the vehicle.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
From the shore. Brian, the news reporter, recorded everything he
knew someone needed to document this incredible moment.
Speaker 7 (18:49):
I've gotten plenty of shots in my career, and I've
missed plenty of shots in my career. There are times
where you don't stop that camera because here we are
at the edge. Something's going to happen.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
As onlookers watched with baited breath, a firefighter dropped down
from the ladder.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
So they had rigged something up so where I could
harness them in. So I had my youngest and.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I thought we always go age order for everything. So
my little guy.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
I cammed and I stropped him up, and the gentleman
who had him, he took him and they pulled the
ladder back because the ladder was extended.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
And now the onlookers weren't just watching anymore. As they
saw the boy hang precariously from the ladder, many joined
in to help the firefighters.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
And then they pulled him back, and then they had
people pull in. They had like teams of people like
Pulley system. It was pretty wild, and then he got
over to the other side, and then it started raining,
so they stopped.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
They had to.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Wait, and my next youngest was just hysterical.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Four hours had already passed and Rachel was no longer shivering,
her muscles were too fatigued as of severe hypothermia.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
Time was of the essence.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
From the shore onlookers began praying that the rain would
stop and the mother and children would be rescued as
fast as the rain dropped from the sky.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
Prayer after prayer was going up.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
It was almost like an umbrella of prayer was being
cast over the river. And suddenly the rain stopped. The
rescue effort resumed. Brian's camera still rolling, prayers still being
offered from the shore mark and his buddies looking on
in wonder. Rachel's lips had turned blue, and the firefighters
(20:36):
knew she was in grave danger from the freezing water.
They urged her to go next, but Rachel's mother heart
wouldn't even consider leaving her children behind.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
The firefighter mentioned He's like, hey, we need to get
you out of this car, and I said, your fat chance.
You're taking all my kids first. You will not take
me out of this car until every single one my
kids is across the river.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
One by one.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Rachel as her three children were lifted onto the shore,
she remained calm and steady despite all the chaos surrounding her,
Despite the crashing of the waves, she stood solid as
a rock. It wasn't until her last child, Cody, finally
reached the bank that the damn that had held back
her emotions broke.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I was so calm until his feet hit the ground,
and like it was in that moment they like it
all just.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Everything kind of hit me.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
And I was just like hysterical at that point because okay,
you know, my kids are safe, everything's good, but like
it all just bam, just like rushed.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
It was like I had to I don't know. And
then the firefighter that came back, he's like, you've gone
this far. He's like, you can't lose it now.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Rachel let the tears come as she braced herself to
be taken out of this van what had been her
prison for now five hours.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
She was almost free.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
As soon as Rachel's feet hit the ground, the whole
crowd of people, including emergency responders, the kayakers, the rock climbers,
and the news reporter took a collective sigh of relief.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
In fact, they began.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Cheering and clapping. Here's actual footage of that moment, caught
by Brian the news reporter. It was over. It was
(22:40):
a moment of both triumph and joy.
Speaker 9 (22:43):
Man.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
By the time I got back over to the ambulance,
all my kids were in there having just the best time,
especially my little ones because the nicest lady she was
feeding them snacks that they.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Had, and so my boys were just having the time
of their life.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
At that point, as Rachel sat in the ambulance with
her children, she saw a familiar face appear between the doors.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
My now husband, him and his son were behind us,
and he had no idea this whole time what.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Was going on. He was stuck in the canyon.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
They were like stopped. He figured that we made it
up to bear Lake and he was kind of walking
around and they had had it blocked off, and then
he listened to the law enforcement folks talking and he
was like, yeah, he's a black minivan. It was a
mom and her four kids, and he's like, oh my god,
that's my girlfriend.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
I gotta go. I gotta go up there.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
And so they ended up letting them through, and then
right as they got me in the ambulance, here he
is at the doors like, oh my God, like what
is going on? And so they immediately transport us. All
we stay in the same ambulance, all of us together,
and they take us to the hospital and they treat
me for ipothermia and my daughter and her gash and
she was pretty cold, and I remember big old blankets
(23:57):
they had all over us. And my kids are just
living it up with all the nurses that especially my boys.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
They are just wooing everybody.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
As the canyon road was reopened, Brian the news reporter
drove back to town. He was certain he had the
story of the day. His cheap camera battery had held
up the entire time, and he had recorded everything you
could tell, a story of community of people coming together
for a noble cause, of hope, of faith, of a
(24:27):
mother's love and a miraculous rescue.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
But it wasn't meant to be.
Speaker 7 (24:32):
There's no cell service in that canyon, and so I'm
driving down and I'm pretty confident I have every news outlets,
including AP. I'm pretty confident I have their lead story
for the day. And so I got back into cell
service and I'm calling up and like they're not taking
my call.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Brian was eager to honor the heroes he had witnessed
that day, but it was twenty twenty, a year when
the world was consumed by turmoil, and while national headlines
were important, they left little space for local miracles. This
one remarkable as it was quietly faded into the background,
(25:10):
never making headlines. Still, Brian says he is grateful he
was able to witness the incredible rescue that day, and
grateful he could be there to document it.
Speaker 7 (25:22):
I did not save anyone's life. I had nothing to
do with and that's how I want to be. I
don't want to influence any one way or the other.
I want to be an impartial observer. So yeah, I
was not an asset to anyone that day, but I
think the sharing it's important.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
We agree that the sharing is important. Rachel considers herself
more spiritual than religious, but she feels this definitely had
to be some kind of miracle.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
There were so many things.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
My car should have been upside down, you know, whatever
rock I was on, Like, I would love to go
see that wrong.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I didn't want to know where I was launched you.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Know, the weird calm, you know, be able to get
my kids to sit there and talk. You know, we're
sitting in the middle of a ragging river having a conversation.
A lot of weird stuff. I can't explain it. I'm
grateful though, That's the only thing. That's the only way
I can describe it. And I'm absolutely grateful for everybody
that helped.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
After she was rescued, Rachel spoke with Brian the news reporter.
In this short news clip, she said something that perfectly
summarizes just how far she'd go to protect her children.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
Keeps going through my head. Is there screams and thinking
what am I going to do? What am I going
to do? I thought to myself, I'm going to die
before I let my kids die. So this might be
it for me, but it's not going to be it
for them.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
There is something so powerful about a mother's love and
something else. The kayaker Mark shared with us truly emphasizes
what a miracle this is. In fact, he told us
something that before this retelling of their story, Rachel wasn't
even aware of it herself. Mark stayed and observed the
cleanup crew remove Rachel's van from the river. We asked
(27:07):
him if it was difficult to get the van off
the rock, and his response surprised us.
Speaker 8 (27:13):
Well, once everybody was out, they basically just took that
toast strap that was attached to the roof of the
car and just started pulling it, and we're able to
just kind of drag it out of the river as
it rolled over and over. Once the vehicle was out
of the river, there was no rock or anything in
the way that actually stopped it. I don't know what
made the vehicle. I don't know what stopped it.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Mark had years of experience and new rivers. Intimately he
understood the forces that shaped rapids and what caused them.
Yet as he stared at the rushing water with no
sign of a rock large enough to stop a vehicle
beneath the surface, he knew he'd witnessed a miracle.
Speaker 8 (27:52):
There was no rock, so when you look at the
pictures in the video, there was nothing there. That whole
section is flowing free water.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Whatever stopped the car, it truly is miraculous that it
never continued downstream, never once budged. For us, there are
too many what ifs to not call this a miracle.
What if Rachel's van had landed in any other way
and had rolled. What if it hadn't stopped in the
river facing upstream. What if it had continued down into
(28:21):
the larger Class four rapids. What if she hadn't rolled
the window down right away. What if she hadn't felt
a feeling of calmness. If there hadn't been kayakers downstream,
or a stranger with a Seebee radio in the exact
spot where cell service failed. If there hadn't been rock
climbers with repelling rope, If the inventive and heroic firefighters
hadn't been able to reach Rachel and her kids, if
(28:44):
there hadn't been a crowd praying for the rain to stop.
Every what if could have ended the story differently. Too
many things had to go exactly right for this mother
and her children to survive, and every.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
One of them did.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Most of the onlookers, including Brian and Mark, would agree.
Rachel left the river that day with her children in
her arms, not because the odds were in their favor,
but because grace was.
Speaker 6 (29:17):
What a miraculous story.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
You know, so many miracles.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
So many miracles, and it is such a blessing that
their van stayed put for all those hours until they
could be rescued.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
I know, you can see in the video how fast
the water is, and we thought it was a miracle
just that they stayed on the rock the whole time,
and then at the end to learn there is no rock.
Speaker 6 (29:39):
Yeah, it sounds like there was no rock.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
Yeah, yeah, I know.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
I was so shocked when Mark told us that, because
Mark knows rivers and currants and how to spot rocks
in the water. Like he said, there was a smaller
rock that was kind of off to the side of
where the van was, and a current that came off
of that that kind of created a little bit of
a hole maybe where the van was at. Yeah, but
he said, if there had been a there would be
like kind of a v current that came off of
(30:03):
that rock. And he said when they pulled the van out,
there was nothing like that there. He said, the river
just ran smooth in that spot, which is crazy to
think about. Yeah, And either way, whether there was a
rock or not, it's just it's still miraculous.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Well, and when the tow truck pulled the van out
of the river, there were a bunch of people standing
on shore who said that all of a sudden, this
van is now moving around freely.
Speaker 10 (30:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
In fact, the current was so powerful it rolled the
van flinted over.
Speaker 5 (30:27):
I mean just crazy.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Yeah, it moves so easily.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
And can you imagine if there had been people in
that van when it rolled like that's terrifying.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Well, I think such a big part of this miracle too,
is that there were so many people on the shore
praying for them, like the one the woman that I
read her post on Facebook.
Speaker 5 (30:47):
She was one of those people.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
She was saying that she prayed for the rain to
stop and she saw that her answered. Yeah, It's just
amazing how many people saw their prayers answered that day.
Speaker 6 (30:56):
Yeah, definitely an answer to prayer, and so many.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
People people saw God's hand at work when all of
these experts just showed up and worked together to save
this family.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
I know you think about these first responders who are
so well trained, but you can never prepare for every
situation they come upon. And we have a SoundBite from
one of the firefighters who was actually there that day.
Speaker 10 (31:18):
Upon arrival, knowing that I didn't have enough manpower. One
of the cool things is we just had some people
come down canyon that actually were kayakers and certified in
swift water rescue as well, so they were able to
take their kayaks across, which we didn't have, across the
river to secure a line on the other side. Our
initial attempt to secure a line on the other side
had failed, and that's when I asked those guys to
(31:39):
use their kayaks to get across the river and they
did it flawlessly. After that, I employed bystanders because we
just didn't have enough manpower with what we had the
operation we had.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
It is so cool that there were so many people
that came together that day.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Ye.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
Also what's amazing about it is that it was a
one way each way type of road and the traffic
was terrible, Like it was really hard for first responders
to get up this canyon to begin with, so that
made these bystanders even more crucial to this rescue.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
Yeah, so many good people.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
And this firefighter also had a message for all the
people who helped with the rescue that day.
Speaker 10 (32:19):
I just want to say, as far as the people
that were here to help us today, a sincere thank
you from Logan City Fire Department for your help today.
And you know this, this rescue operation was a huge
success and largely because of your help. So thank you
very much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
I love that I do too.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
And I also really loved Brian the news reporter's perspective.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
That's something else I was thinking about that.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
He said he had his own little personal miracles happened
that day. Like one of the things for him was
that he'd been training for a five k, so he
was able to run all the way up there up
the canyon. Yeah, exactly. And he even felt like his
camera battery holding up. He said, he had just like
an older camera battery that he was surprised it held
(33:04):
up so that he could shoot all the footage of this.
And it's amazing the video he got.
Speaker 5 (33:09):
Yeah, his footage was incredible.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
It had to have been so disappointing after witnessing this
incredible miracle. I know the goodness of humanity to then
go back to town and to not have this story
really make the headlines. But maybe wonder like how often
does this happen?
Speaker 5 (33:26):
Right? There are these.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Incredible stories and we don't hear about them because now
you're covered up by something else, you know.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Yeah, it's so true, and when we say that, we
believe there are more miracles.
Speaker 6 (33:37):
The murders.
Speaker 4 (33:38):
This is part of why we say that because are
so often these stories just get underreported because the terrible
tragedies are the cruel crimes, you know, they just kind
of overshadow stories like us, which is kind of sad.
But we are happy to report on these stories.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Yeah, that's why you have the Miracle Files.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
We will continue looking.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
For these amazing stories of God's miracles because God is
so good and there are so many out.
Speaker 6 (34:06):
There, so good all the time, no matter what, He
is so good.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
And we want to thank Rachel, Mark and Brian for
sharing your.
Speaker 6 (34:14):
Stories with us. We are so grateful for the positive outcomes.
Speaker 5 (34:19):
That you had.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Yes, and please, if you enjoy this podcast, share it
with a friend, subscribe, make sure you leave us a review,
and we'll see you next time.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle
to share, contact us at the Miracle Files dot com
or find us on Facebook.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
We're now releasing multiple episodes each month, so subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content
as well.
Speaker 4 (34:46):
Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles,
and don't forget to look for His light in your
own lives
The van slammed the turbulent river. From inside came the
terrified screams of Rachel's children.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And it was so loud.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
The water was coming up over the windshield, and I
just I didn't know what to do. All of the
airbags had gone off. My children clearly were very distraught.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Rachel took a deep breath. She looked around at her kids.
The van began.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Moving, you know, I hear them all screaming.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
The current had them now pushing the van backwards, shoving
it downstream toward even larger rapids. This is the Miracle Files.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
I'm Emily Jones and I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters
who love a captivating true story, but we're also seeking
more light in our lives.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable,
uplifting stories of God's miracles. We hope you'll join us
on this journey.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Welcome back to the Miracle Files. Emily found this story
that we have today in a Facebook group.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Yes I did.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I actually was scrolling through Facebook and I saw this
woman post about this experience. She'd actually been there that day,
she'd seen all these miracles, and when I hear the
word miracle, obviously it piqued my interests. So I went
and looked into this story and I just knew it
was one that we.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
Had to share.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Well, I'm so glad you found it. The mother in
this story, Rachel, is awesome. Talk about a warrior mama,
Like she's such a fierce advocate and protector of her children.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yea, we'd ever definitely see that all throughout this story. So,
I mean, I think a lot of parents out there
will probably be able to relate to this and feel
for her.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5 (01:45):
It's an incredible story. So let's get started.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
Let's get to it.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
The Logan Canyon, scenic by weight, is beautiful and dangerous.
It's towering green pine trees lined the Logan River, which
winds beside the narrow two lane road. In the spring,
the river's churning whitewater swells with snow melt. On a
May morning in twenty twenty, Rachel Mitchell set out with
her four children. She drove into the canyon, looking forward
(02:16):
to meeting her boyfriend and his son at their final destination.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
Bear Lake.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
She brought four of her five children with her. Cody,
almost sixteen, Kaylee fourteen, Liam five, and Camden four here's Rachel.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
We got ready to go.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
We would headed up through Logan Canyon and there's a
Maverick we stopped at just to get snacks. They all
wanted whatever, and I remember I wanted a vitamin water.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
So I got myself a vitamin water.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
A simple bottle of vitamin water. It seemed so innocent
at the time. It was supposed to be a carefree,
fun family day. Who knew that something so simple as
a bottle to drink could be the undoing of it all.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
And I was driving a mini van at the time,
and the minivan in the center console there was like
this place where you could set your things, but it
was on the floor, and I had my purse there
and I had set my vitamin water in my purse,
and my son had set his snacks and he was
in the front seat. And so he was headed up
to the canyon that goes to Bear Lake and it's
(03:21):
very windy. I had never driven that canyon before, and
there was a lot of people, a lot of cars,
a lot of things going on.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Rachel drove her van around a turn and just like that,
the vitamin water tumbled out of her purse and rolled
onto the floorboard beneath her.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And the vitamin water had fallen out of my purse
and was lodged underneath my pedals, and my son reached
over and was trying to get it.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Cody stretched his fingers, he almost had the bottle, but
it stayed just beyond his grasp. Rachel leaned down too,
reaching for it with her own hand, but suddenly another
turn in the road appeared before them. Rachel didn't have
time to react. The van didn't turn. It launched straight
off the road, fifteen feet down and into the icy
(04:11):
waters below.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And we missed turning because I couldn't do anything. And
then just awfully went into the river, and immediately I
blacked out.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
The van slammed into the turbulent river.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Air bags deployed, and water exploded over the hood. From
inside came the terrified screams of Rachel's children in the
driver's seat. Rachel lay slumped over the wheel, motionless. When
Rachel came to, she was disoriented. She didn't see water.
At first, she felt it freezing, rising, pushing it surrounded her,
(04:50):
seeping into her vehicle. Her mind struggled to grasp reality
as she felt fear taking hold.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Then Rachel felt something else.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
A voice side her, urging her rolled the window down.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Now, I remember, I didn't see anything. I just remember
roll the window down. I knew I was in water,
like roll the window down. Just after that, none of
them worked. I tried to roll down other ones. Everything
went completely dead. But it was just this weird roll
the window down. Get that rolled down.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
The van was facing upriver and somehow it was upright.
Somehow it hadn't landed on its side or rolled yet.
Rachel took a deep breath. She looked around at her kids.
For now they were okay, but the moment of reprieve
was gone. Before it started. The van began moving. Her
(05:42):
children screamed behind her, high.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
Pitched and panicked.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
The current had them now pushing the van backwards, shoving
it downstream toward even larger rapids. And then a violent
jolt and the motion stopped.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And then we got lot and I believe we were
lodged on a pretty good sized rock, and I just
I didn't know what to do. All of the airbags
had gone off. My children clearly were very distraught. My
daughter in the very back. It was in the third row.
When the air bag went off, it put a big
old gash in her thigh.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
As the freezing rapids roared around her, Rachel tried to
assess her situation.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
And it was so loud.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
The water was coming up over the windshield. Ironically, we
were going to Bear Lake. So I had life jackets,
and so I had my daughter grab the life jackets.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
We got them on the little ones.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
You know, I hear them all screaming. At that point,
I was just like in mom mode, trying to like
keep my kids calm, and I put my boys, my
younger boys. I could put my feet on the tippy toes,
and my tops of my thighs.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Weren't in the water because the water was freezing, and.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
So I had them like sitting up on my thighs
so that they they weren't submerged because it was for
freezing cold.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Inside the van, water crept higher around them. As Rachel
and her kids sat frozen in fear, the river roared
like a freight train. In their ears, airbags hung like
crumpled sails. Rachel encouraged her children to sit very still.
For now the vehicle had come to a stop, but
it was a fragile pause. Rachel feared one wrong move
(07:26):
could dislodge them from the rock and the current could
carry them further downstream. Just one hundred yards below them,
the river dropped into a mile long stretch of Class
four rapids, violent swirling water that would almost certainly flip
the van. Rachel knew that staying put was their only
(07:46):
chance for survival. Above them, on the shoulder of the road,
a crowd gathered trying to shout to Rachel, but she
couldn't hear them. The river was too loud. There was
no cell service in the canyon. Everyone who arrived on
scene could see how precarious Rachel's situation was, but as
much as people wanted to help, they didn't know what
to do. They needed to call nine one one, but
(08:09):
with no reception, that wasn't an option. But just then
someone stepped forward. This man was an amateur radio enthusiast,
and incredibly he had his radio with him that day,
he was able to call out for help with great difficulty.
Police and fire trucks made their way up the canyon,
passed the lines of traffic now caused by everyone stopping
(08:32):
to try to help. As each new person even firefighters
would arrive and see the van in the river, they
would have the same expression. Every one of them knew
this wasn't good, and rescuing this mother and her children
in time before their van dislodged and tumbled downstream wasn't
going to be easy. In fact, they feared one wrong
(08:54):
move on their part could cause the van to dislodge
and disappear into the current. On the shore, a news
reporter held a camera. His name was Brian Champagne. His
car had been stopped three miles away in a long
line of traffic down the canyon. But Brian had been
training for a five k and when he'd heard about
all the commotion on his radio scanner, he knew he
(09:17):
had to find out what was happening, so he started running.
Brian had worked in California for years in broadcast TV
news and had seen a lot of crazy things, but
this incident would be one he would never forget. Here's Brian, and.
Speaker 7 (09:31):
I first laid eyes on that van just in the
middle of the river. This was May, so the river
was at its second highest level of the entire year.
So I finally go up there and I start shooting
my way in so I'm getting wide shots as I
move up, and then finally like I see that there's
this family in this van and the waters coming up
to the windshield.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Somehow, the firefighters needed to get the mother and children
out of the van and onto dry land, but no
one could waigh or even swim into the whitewater. Maybe
if they had some kind of rope they could make
a pulley system. Even that would be dangerous, but it
didn't matter either way. They didn't have any rope that
would work. At that moment. More people began stepping forward
(10:15):
from the crowd. Amazingly, some men on mountain bikes pulled up.
They had been rock climbing and had repelling rope with them.
Then Mark Nelson and his buddies arrived on scene. They
were kayakers who had their kayaks with them and were
trained and ready. Within minutes, a group of volunteers had
formed to help. As Mark the kayaker surveyed the scene,
(10:36):
he realized immediately the danger Rachel was in.
Speaker 8 (10:39):
Here's Mark kind of a difficult situation obviously, that she's
right above the biggest whitewater for a mile that we
could do. So we had come back up and when
we got there. The fire department arrived and we went
up to the person in charge of the fire department
and said, hey, we've got experience. We can help you
(11:01):
in any way, shape or form that we can.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
The firefighters eye to the kayakers and discussed their options.
Speaker 8 (11:07):
They kind of assess the situation and he comes back
to us and he says, the number one issue that
we have is that we can't get a rope from
this side of the river to the other side. And
I said, I can get that rope across for you
in about ten seconds. So he said, all right, let's
do it. Me and my friend instantly, we just grab
our kayaks. We rig up the ropes and everything that
we were doing, and both me and my friend paddle
(11:28):
across right above where the van was and enter into
one of the eddies. Eddie is a side of the
river where the water actually flows upriver instead of flowing
down as it hits the side, and so we were
able to safely paddle into that and set up a
rope system and tried to get some of the firefighters
and things over.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
The kayakers were able to get the rope across the
river with ease, but as is often the case, in life.
After that, things didn't go according to plan. Rachel and
her kids watched as one of the firefighters tried to
make his way across, attached to the rope.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
I remember watching in just like complete and utter terror.
It scared the living daylights out of me, because they
had him walk out into the river up above us.
I think he was going to try to sort of
float down to us, and man, he just went under instantly.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
As Mark and his friend stood on the far bank,
they quickly realized the rope sagged with too much slack.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
Here's Mark.
Speaker 8 (12:24):
We had set up the rope system and one of
the firefighters, unfortunately, as he was coming across, went into
one of the small rapids that was there and actually
ended up getting pulled underwater. He was probably about three
feet away from us, but when he got pulled underwater,
because he was attached to the rope, it held him underwater.
And your life jackets they're designed to have a breakaway
(12:46):
system where you can pull a little string and it
will release the rope so that you don't get into
that situation. Unfortunately, he couldn't find that little breakaway system.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Mark and his friend watched as the firefighter struggled beneath
the surface of the water. As critical as the situation
was for the family, it now became far more urgent
for the firefighter.
Speaker 7 (13:06):
So when deals.
Speaker 8 (13:07):
Underwater, me and my friend instantly responded to that, and
my friend got out as far as he could. I
held on to him so he could get out further
into the current, and we were able to pull on
the rope and get him up high enough that we
grabbed him and pulled him in, which was one of
the craziest things that we did.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Thankfully, the firefighter had been rescued, but unfortunately the rescue
team was no closer.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
To helping the family.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Now what they needed to devise a new plan to
save Rachel and her children, but there were no easy answers.
Minutes ticked by turning into ours. As Rachel and her
children sat in the middle of a river in the
frigid whitewater, something strange was occurring to them. Their panic
began to settle. Instead, a feeling difficult to describe filled
(13:56):
the van. While Rachel knew the danger was far from over, somehow,
Rachel and her children felt a quiet sense of peace.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
So I just kept focusing on my kids and honestly,
there was this weird calm. We just talked and my
little ones, you know, they were nervous, they were scared
every now and again.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
It was like up and down. You know. They were
kind of like hysterical one moment and then they'd becolm
the next moment.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
We're just talking about different things, random stuff. School we
were talking about, you know, because my older son he
was due to get his driver's license soon, so that
was less than stellar getting in an accident like that.
So you know, we just kind of sort of talked
through everything.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Rescue workers decided to try to get a raft to
Rachel and her kids.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Again, the kayakers helped.
Speaker 8 (14:50):
We tried a few different things to get them out,
but they were in really really swift water, and as
the water was going around the car, it was creating
a really awkward current. So when we tried to set
up a system to get the raft down, the raft
couldn't get close enough and stable enough for us to
get anybody out because of this really powerful swirly current.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Despite the repeated rescue attempts falling short, Rachel was amazed
at how well her children were doing. Still, they were
beginning to get restless. Though they remained mostly calm, Rachel
couldn't help but feel anxious. With every small movement. The
constant fear of dislodging her van remained ever present in
her mind.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
I was absolutely terrified to move at any point in time.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I just told him.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
I was like, hey, everybody sits still, Let's just not move.
And I just sat there with my boys for quite
a long time. They were on my lap. As time
went on and I had to move them, I had
to rearrange. I just was like, it's not moving. This
thing is not moving. But every now and again it
seemed like there was like a.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Whoof and it would kind of go way up the windshield.
That was always terrifying.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
By now, they'd been trapped in the icy river for
over three hours. Each minute that passed felt like an eternity,
and the window of rescue was closing fast. The longer
they remained in the river, the more certain it became.
Hypothermia wasn't just a threat, it was closing in. Rachel
(16:16):
sat shivering, her legs cold and numb as she held
her children, trying to boost them above the frigid water.
She was willing to sacrifice her comfort or even her
own life.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
To protect them.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
The rescue workers put their heads together and came up
with a new plan.
Speaker 8 (16:33):
Eventually, what ended up happening is they brought a truck
with a ladder, and it took them, I don't know,
maybe an hour to get that truck up to the canyon.
But they were able to set that truck up with
the ladder and swing it out over the top of
the river and actually repel one of the fire fighters
down again.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
The firefighters used the ropes the rock climbers had given them.
The rock climbers helped with the rigging, and the Kai
eckers paddled against the current, fighting to stay near Rachel's vehicle.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And then they had rigged up a whole bunch of stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
They had ropes on the ladders, and they had a
guy come out on the ladder and he was talking
to me. They wanted to drop me a toe rope.
It was really thick and heavy, and I was like, okay,
I can do that, but I needed to break the
other window. So I had my son climb in the back,
(17:27):
and I had my little boys. They kind of had
to stand with them, so they all kind of got
in the back.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
One of the firemen dropped a sharp rock into Rachel's
open window and shouted to her to use it to
break the passenger side window.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I had no idea how difficult it was to break
the window, and then as soon as the window broke,
it hit my thighs and just all this blood went everywhere,
and my kids were just hysterical because it was like
just leaking down the back of the car because the
water was going that way, and I was just like,
it's okay, We're okay.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Rachel slid her bloody thighs into the water as the
blood slowly diluted, her kids calmed down again. With her
children settled, Rachel turned her attention back to the firefighter,
waiting to see what he needed her to do next.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
And what I had to do was they needed to
drop the tow rope to me through the one side,
and then I had to get it through the other
side and throw it over. And when they dropped it,
it went down the river, and so I had to
pull this thing back into the car.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Which was like so difficult.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I just it was so heavy, and I just didn't
think I was going to get it in, and so
I eventually I got to the end of it, I
pulled it in and I flinged it around and they
were able to like stabilize the vehicle.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
From the shore. Brian, the news reporter, recorded everything he
knew someone needed to document this incredible moment.
Speaker 7 (18:49):
I've gotten plenty of shots in my career, and I've
missed plenty of shots in my career. There are times
where you don't stop that camera because here we are
at the edge. Something's going to happen.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
As onlookers watched with baited breath, a firefighter dropped down
from the ladder.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
So they had rigged something up so where I could
harness them in. So I had my youngest and.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I thought we always go age order for everything. So
my little guy.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
I cammed and I stropped him up, and the gentleman
who had him, he took him and they pulled the
ladder back because the ladder was extended.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
And now the onlookers weren't just watching anymore. As they
saw the boy hang precariously from the ladder, many joined
in to help the firefighters.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
And then they pulled him back, and then they had
people pull in. They had like teams of people like
Pulley system. It was pretty wild, and then he got
over to the other side, and then it started raining,
so they stopped.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
They had to.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Wait, and my next youngest was just hysterical.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Four hours had already passed and Rachel was no longer shivering,
her muscles were too fatigued as of severe hypothermia.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
Time was of the essence.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
From the shore onlookers began praying that the rain would
stop and the mother and children would be rescued as
fast as the rain dropped from the sky.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
Prayer after prayer was going up.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
It was almost like an umbrella of prayer was being
cast over the river. And suddenly the rain stopped. The
rescue effort resumed. Brian's camera still rolling, prayers still being
offered from the shore mark and his buddies looking on
in wonder. Rachel's lips had turned blue, and the firefighters
(20:36):
knew she was in grave danger from the freezing water.
They urged her to go next, but Rachel's mother heart
wouldn't even consider leaving her children behind.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
The firefighter mentioned He's like, hey, we need to get
you out of this car, and I said, your fat chance.
You're taking all my kids first. You will not take
me out of this car until every single one my
kids is across the river.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
One by one.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Rachel as her three children were lifted onto the shore,
she remained calm and steady despite all the chaos surrounding her,
Despite the crashing of the waves, she stood solid as
a rock. It wasn't until her last child, Cody, finally
reached the bank that the damn that had held back
her emotions broke.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I was so calm until his feet hit the ground,
and like it was in that moment they like it
all just.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Everything kind of hit me.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
And I was just like hysterical at that point because okay,
you know, my kids are safe, everything's good, but like
it all just bam, just like rushed.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
It was like I had to I don't know. And
then the firefighter that came back, he's like, you've gone
this far. He's like, you can't lose it now.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Rachel let the tears come as she braced herself to
be taken out of this van what had been her
prison for now five hours.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
She was almost free.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
As soon as Rachel's feet hit the ground, the whole
crowd of people, including emergency responders, the kayakers, the rock climbers,
and the news reporter took a collective sigh of relief.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
In fact, they began.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Cheering and clapping. Here's actual footage of that moment, caught
by Brian the news reporter. It was over. It was
(22:40):
a moment of both triumph and joy.
Speaker 9 (22:43):
Man.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
By the time I got back over to the ambulance,
all my kids were in there having just the best time,
especially my little ones because the nicest lady she was
feeding them snacks that they.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Had, and so my boys were just having the time
of their life.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
At that point, as Rachel sat in the ambulance with
her children, she saw a familiar face appear between the doors.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
My now husband, him and his son were behind us,
and he had no idea this whole time what.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Was going on. He was stuck in the canyon.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
They were like stopped. He figured that we made it
up to bear Lake and he was kind of walking
around and they had had it blocked off, and then
he listened to the law enforcement folks talking and he
was like, yeah, he's a black minivan. It was a
mom and her four kids, and he's like, oh my god,
that's my girlfriend.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
I gotta go. I gotta go up there.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
And so they ended up letting them through, and then
right as they got me in the ambulance, here he
is at the doors like, oh my God, like what
is going on? And so they immediately transport us. All
we stay in the same ambulance, all of us together,
and they take us to the hospital and they treat
me for ipothermia and my daughter and her gash and
she was pretty cold, and I remember big old blankets
(23:57):
they had all over us. And my kids are just
living it up with all the nurses that especially my boys.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
They are just wooing everybody.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
As the canyon road was reopened, Brian the news reporter
drove back to town. He was certain he had the
story of the day. His cheap camera battery had held
up the entire time, and he had recorded everything you
could tell, a story of community of people coming together
for a noble cause, of hope, of faith, of a
(24:27):
mother's love and a miraculous rescue.
Speaker 5 (24:30):
But it wasn't meant to be.
Speaker 7 (24:32):
There's no cell service in that canyon, and so I'm
driving down and I'm pretty confident I have every news outlets,
including AP. I'm pretty confident I have their lead story
for the day. And so I got back into cell
service and I'm calling up and like they're not taking
my call.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Brian was eager to honor the heroes he had witnessed
that day, but it was twenty twenty, a year when
the world was consumed by turmoil, and while national headlines
were important, they left little space for local miracles. This
one remarkable as it was quietly faded into the background,
(25:10):
never making headlines. Still, Brian says he is grateful he
was able to witness the incredible rescue that day, and
grateful he could be there to document it.
Speaker 7 (25:22):
I did not save anyone's life. I had nothing to
do with and that's how I want to be. I
don't want to influence any one way or the other.
I want to be an impartial observer. So yeah, I
was not an asset to anyone that day, but I
think the sharing it's important.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
We agree that the sharing is important. Rachel considers herself
more spiritual than religious, but she feels this definitely had
to be some kind of miracle.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
There were so many things.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
My car should have been upside down, you know, whatever
rock I was on, Like, I would love to go
see that wrong.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I didn't want to know where I was launched you.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Know, the weird calm, you know, be able to get
my kids to sit there and talk. You know, we're
sitting in the middle of a ragging river having a conversation.
A lot of weird stuff. I can't explain it. I'm
grateful though, That's the only thing. That's the only way
I can describe it. And I'm absolutely grateful for everybody
that helped.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
After she was rescued, Rachel spoke with Brian the news reporter.
In this short news clip, she said something that perfectly
summarizes just how far she'd go to protect her children.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
Keeps going through my head. Is there screams and thinking
what am I going to do? What am I going
to do? I thought to myself, I'm going to die
before I let my kids die. So this might be
it for me, but it's not going to be it
for them.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
There is something so powerful about a mother's love and
something else. The kayaker Mark shared with us truly emphasizes
what a miracle this is. In fact, he told us
something that before this retelling of their story, Rachel wasn't
even aware of it herself. Mark stayed and observed the
cleanup crew remove Rachel's van from the river. We asked
(27:07):
him if it was difficult to get the van off
the rock, and his response surprised us.
Speaker 8 (27:13):
Well, once everybody was out, they basically just took that
toast strap that was attached to the roof of the
car and just started pulling it, and we're able to
just kind of drag it out of the river as
it rolled over and over. Once the vehicle was out
of the river, there was no rock or anything in
the way that actually stopped it. I don't know what
made the vehicle. I don't know what stopped it.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Mark had years of experience and new rivers. Intimately he
understood the forces that shaped rapids and what caused them.
Yet as he stared at the rushing water with no
sign of a rock large enough to stop a vehicle
beneath the surface, he knew he'd witnessed a miracle.
Speaker 8 (27:52):
There was no rock, so when you look at the
pictures in the video, there was nothing there. That whole
section is flowing free water.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Whatever stopped the car, it truly is miraculous that it
never continued downstream, never once budged. For us, there are
too many what ifs to not call this a miracle.
What if Rachel's van had landed in any other way
and had rolled. What if it hadn't stopped in the
river facing upstream. What if it had continued down into
(28:21):
the larger Class four rapids. What if she hadn't rolled
the window down right away. What if she hadn't felt
a feeling of calmness. If there hadn't been kayakers downstream,
or a stranger with a Seebee radio in the exact
spot where cell service failed. If there hadn't been rock
climbers with repelling rope, If the inventive and heroic firefighters
hadn't been able to reach Rachel and her kids, if
(28:44):
there hadn't been a crowd praying for the rain to stop.
Every what if could have ended the story differently. Too
many things had to go exactly right for this mother
and her children to survive, and every.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
One of them did.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Most of the onlookers, including Brian and Mark, would agree.
Rachel left the river that day with her children in
her arms, not because the odds were in their favor,
but because grace was.
Speaker 6 (29:17):
What a miraculous story.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
You know, so many miracles.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
So many miracles, and it is such a blessing that
their van stayed put for all those hours until they
could be rescued.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
I know, you can see in the video how fast
the water is, and we thought it was a miracle
just that they stayed on the rock the whole time,
and then at the end to learn there is no rock.
Speaker 6 (29:39):
Yeah, it sounds like there was no rock.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
Yeah, yeah, I know.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
I was so shocked when Mark told us that, because
Mark knows rivers and currants and how to spot rocks
in the water. Like he said, there was a smaller
rock that was kind of off to the side of
where the van was, and a current that came off
of that that kind of created a little bit of
a hole maybe where the van was at. Yeah, but
he said, if there had been a there would be
like kind of a v current that came off of
(30:03):
that rock. And he said when they pulled the van out,
there was nothing like that there. He said, the river
just ran smooth in that spot, which is crazy to
think about. Yeah, And either way, whether there was a
rock or not, it's just it's still miraculous.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Well, and when the tow truck pulled the van out
of the river, there were a bunch of people standing
on shore who said that all of a sudden, this
van is now moving around freely.
Speaker 10 (30:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
In fact, the current was so powerful it rolled the
van flinted over.
Speaker 5 (30:27):
I mean just crazy.
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Yeah, it moves so easily.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
And can you imagine if there had been people in
that van when it rolled like that's terrifying.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Well, I think such a big part of this miracle too,
is that there were so many people on the shore
praying for them, like the one the woman that I
read her post on Facebook.
Speaker 5 (30:47):
She was one of those people.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
She was saying that she prayed for the rain to
stop and she saw that her answered. Yeah, It's just
amazing how many people saw their prayers answered that day.
Speaker 6 (30:56):
Yeah, definitely an answer to prayer, and so many.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
People people saw God's hand at work when all of
these experts just showed up and worked together to save
this family.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
I know you think about these first responders who are
so well trained, but you can never prepare for every
situation they come upon. And we have a SoundBite from
one of the firefighters who was actually there that day.
Speaker 10 (31:18):
Upon arrival, knowing that I didn't have enough manpower. One
of the cool things is we just had some people
come down canyon that actually were kayakers and certified in
swift water rescue as well, so they were able to
take their kayaks across, which we didn't have, across the
river to secure a line on the other side. Our
initial attempt to secure a line on the other side
had failed, and that's when I asked those guys to
(31:39):
use their kayaks to get across the river and they
did it flawlessly. After that, I employed bystanders because we
just didn't have enough manpower with what we had the
operation we had.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
It is so cool that there were so many people
that came together that day.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Ye.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
Also what's amazing about it is that it was a
one way each way type of road and the traffic
was terrible, Like it was really hard for first responders
to get up this canyon to begin with, so that
made these bystanders even more crucial to this rescue.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
Yeah, so many good people.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
And this firefighter also had a message for all the
people who helped with the rescue that day.
Speaker 10 (32:19):
I just want to say, as far as the people
that were here to help us today, a sincere thank
you from Logan City Fire Department for your help today.
And you know this, this rescue operation was a huge
success and largely because of your help. So thank you
very much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
I love that I do too.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
And I also really loved Brian the news reporter's perspective.
Speaker 6 (32:41):
That's something else I was thinking about that.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
He said he had his own little personal miracles happened
that day. Like one of the things for him was
that he'd been training for a five k, so he
was able to run all the way up there up
the canyon. Yeah, exactly. And he even felt like his
camera battery holding up. He said, he had just like
an older camera battery that he was surprised it held
(33:04):
up so that he could shoot all the footage of this.
And it's amazing the video he got.
Speaker 5 (33:09):
Yeah, his footage was incredible.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
It had to have been so disappointing after witnessing this
incredible miracle. I know the goodness of humanity to then
go back to town and to not have this story
really make the headlines. But maybe wonder like how often
does this happen?
Speaker 5 (33:26):
Right? There are these.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Incredible stories and we don't hear about them because now
you're covered up by something else, you know.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Yeah, it's so true, and when we say that, we
believe there are more miracles.
Speaker 6 (33:37):
The murders.
Speaker 4 (33:38):
This is part of why we say that because are
so often these stories just get underreported because the terrible
tragedies are the cruel crimes, you know, they just kind
of overshadow stories like us, which is kind of sad.
But we are happy to report on these stories.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Yeah, that's why you have the Miracle Files.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
We will continue looking.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
For these amazing stories of God's miracles because God is
so good and there are so many out.
Speaker 6 (34:06):
There, so good all the time, no matter what, He
is so good.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
And we want to thank Rachel, Mark and Brian for
sharing your.
Speaker 6 (34:14):
Stories with us. We are so grateful for the positive outcomes.
Speaker 5 (34:19):
That you had.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Yes, and please, if you enjoy this podcast, share it
with a friend, subscribe, make sure you leave us a review,
and we'll see you next time.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle
to share, contact us at the Miracle Files dot com
or find us on Facebook.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
We're now releasing multiple episodes each month, so subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content
as well.
Speaker 4 (34:46):
Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles,
and don't forget to look for His light in your
own lives
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