CALDWELL, Idaho — Josh Carter could hardly hang on much longer to the tree that was keeping him afloat in the river. He was there for 18 hours before Caldwell law enforcement rescued him.
On Thursday, Canyon County Sheriff's deputies, Caldwell Police, Caldwell Fire Department and Canyon County Paramedics responded to a report of a man clinging to a tree in the Boise River.
Carter was found in extreme distress and laying on his back under a tree branch, a release by Caldwell PD said.
His head continued to go under water and he told Caldwell Police, the first to arrive, that he could not hold on any longer. The officers balanced on another tree limb to throw Carter a rope. Other officers ran into the water at high levels to help grab him and take him to shore.
Fire and paramedics arrived, the news release said, to assess his medical conditions. They discovered he had been there for 18 hours.
Caldwell PD later visited Carter in the hospital and found out he was almost hypothermic when they rescued him from the river. His core temperature was 93 degrees, it said, while hypothermia begins around 95 degrees.
"I never thought I'd hug a cop," Carter said.
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