A Sonoma County Sheriff's Office helicopter rescued a Fremont family when their inner tubes got stuck on bushes in the middle of the Russian River Tuesday.
The four family members were stranded on the bushes for about two hours. Sheriff's deputies responded around 5:40 p.m., sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said.
A good Samaritan, who is reportedly a nun, tried to help the family with a rope but she also got stuck in the rushing current, Crum said.
The helicopter crew fastened a 100-foot rope to the bottom of the helicopter and a deputy hastened himself to the bottom of the rope, according to Crum.
The five stranded people were lifted out of the river with a horse collar device one by one and taken to shore, Crum said. No one was injured.
The cold river water is moving swiftly this spring, and people boating or floating should be extra cautious, Crum said.
