A heroic team effort saved the lives of a family from Florida that fell into Avalanche Gorge in Glacier National Park on July 6.

Mike Skidmore and his family were hiking near the gorge about 7 p.m. when his brother, Tommy Skidmore, saw two people go into the water while they taking a picture near the rushing water of the gorge, which is a top attraction in the park. 

Then the couple’s son, who was 16, went into the water to try to save his parents, Mike Skidmore explained.  

“My brother and his son attempted to help the teenage boy who was stranded on the tree branches.  Then the daughter of the Florida family who was with them alerted my other brother,  that her parents were swept away down the falls and were under water,” Mike Skidmore explained in a text message to the Hungry Horse News. “My brother yelled to me as I was closer to water and my nephew, Scott Skidmore, my brother and I jumped into the water. We searched for one to three minutes before locating the bodies fully submerged.  

“We dragged the wife to shore -- she had no pulse, no breath - my brother started CPR while my nephew and I retrieved the other body and got him onto shore. 

“He also had no pulse or breath. The bodies were in 4 to 5 feet of very swift moving water, trapped under a branches and debris.  It was challenging to get them to shore while not becoming victims ourselves.  We performed CPR on both of them and were able to resuscitate them after several minutes.

"They were in the water for approximately 4 to 5 minutes. The wife responded fairly quickly and was coughing and started to somewhat breathe in the first minute or two.  The husband had several deep gashes to his back and head that were bleeding and it took 3-4 minutes of CPR before he responded,”  Mike Skidmore explained.

The elder Skidmores are all trained in CPR and work in the medical or law enforcement field, Mike noted. 

It took first responders 15 to 25 minutes to get there, Mike estimated, with Three Rivers Ambulance, Glacier Park rangers and the Whitefish Fire Department all responding. 

Meanwhile, others helped as well with CPR and with clothing and supplies to help treat the people, including an emergency room doctor. 

“Someone dropped off a kit with some supplies and my brother (he’s a physician) and the ER doc got a neck brace on the husband,” Mike said. 

“We stayed on scene and helped carry the husband out on a body board,” Mike said. “It was a crazy experience and seemed to be God’s hand in placing my brothers and I there as we are all trained in CPR (dentist , doctor and DEA agent) and we are adventure lovers so going into river was natural for us and we felt we could rescue them safely,” Mike said. 

A Glacier Park ranger rappelled down the slick rock walls of the gorge and secured the boy before he was hoisted out by the park’s rescue team.  

Video of the teen on social media showed him clinging to a log just above the water, shaking from the cold. 

All three family members were transported to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell. Two patients were transported by ambulance while one was taken in an A.L.E.R.T. helicopter.   

Park officials credited the Skidmore family and other quick-thinking bystanders with saving the lives of the two victims that were swept into the gorge.  

“The park would like to thank the park visitors for their heroic efforts that saved two lives, Three Rivers Ambulance, A.L.E.R.T. and the Whitefish Fire Department,” Glacier Park officials said in a release. 

There is a split rail guardrail along with signs warning people to stay away from the edge of the gorge. The trail sees more than 1,500 visitors a day during the summer months, according to park visitation studies, making it one of the most visited places in the park.