Sheriff: Teenage Girl Rescued After Lanesboro Tubing Incident

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 17-year-old girl stranded while tubing in Lanesboro resulted in the most difficult rescue to date for the city's fire department over the weekend, according to the Fillmore County Sheriff's Office.

According to the sheriff's office, they received a report on Saturday at 9:38 p.m. of a person stranded on the bank of the Root River.

Due to poor cell phone service, the exact location was difficult to determine and authorities ended up responding to the opposite side of the where the victim was, which was on the river bank of the Root River, behind the Cedar Valley Resort.

Authorities say the Lanesboro Fire Department was able to get a life jacket to the victim using tow ropes and raft, and were able to get her across the river to safety.

Due to darkness, high and swift water conditions, the rescue was very challenging. One of the Lanesboro firefighters said it was the most difficult rescues to date for the department.

The victim told authorities that her group of friends began a tubing trip in Lanesboro at around 7 p.m. Shortly after the beginning of the trip, she noticed her raft had a leak in it, but continued on. The raft eventually deflated and she began swimming along with the group. When the group went along the bank to get out of the water, however, she was unable to swim over to them. She was able to pull herself over to the bank on the opposite side of where her friends were. That's when the call for assistance was made.

The victim was assessed by an ambulance, but was not taken to the hospital.