St. George firefighters safely extract teen who was likely stuck in quicksand along Virgin River

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ST. GEORGE — Firefighters responded to a teen who was stuck in the mud in the Virgin River in Bloomington Monday evening.

A teen boy got stuck in the Virgin River in Bloomington after likely running across a patch of quicksand, according to authorities. The boy was eventually pulled out of the muck by St. George firefighters, St. George, Utah, April 8, 2024 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Station 8 firefighters in the SunRiver area received the call around 7:30 p.m. and were sent to a part of the Virgin River north of where Brigham Road connects to the trail along the south side of the river.

What firefighters found was a teen boy whose legs were stuck in the muck beneath the surface and could not get out.

St. George Fire Battalion Chief Tyler Talbot said he wasn’t sure how the boy got stuck in the river, whether he was “playing around” or got stuck in a patch of quicksand. Whatever the case, a handful of firefighters and Gold Cross Ambulance medics worked to dig and pull the boy out as either friends are family members watched.

At one point, as the boy began to be pulled from the mud by one of the firefighters, he groaned and repeatedly said, “I can’t do it,” until he was set down again.

In the case of quicksand, which Talbot said was likely what they were dealing with, the Encyclopedia Britannica notes, “Physicists have calculated that the force required to extract your foot from quicksand at a rate of one centimeter per second is roughly equal to the force needed to lift a medium-sized car.”

Firefighters were eventually able to remove the boy from the river and carry him to the waiting ambulance.

Talbot said the boy complained about being cold and having pain in his lower extremities. While he was checked by Gold Cross Ambulance paramedics at the scene, Tablot couldn’t confirm if he was taken to the hospital for further care.

The temperature of the Virgin River this time of year is usually between 50 and 60 degrees, according to the Washington County Water Conservancy District.

Quicksand along the river

Pockets of quicksand can exist along the Virgin River up into Zion National Park, said Washington County Sheriff’s Sgt. Darrell Cashin, who oversees the Washington County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team. However, incidents of people getting caught in it are rare.

St. George firefighters carry a teen boy to a nearby ambulance after pulling him out of the Virgin River. Authorities say the boy likely stepped into a patch of quicksand beneath the surface of the water and got stuck until rescuers were able to pull him out, St. George, Utah, April 8, 2024 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

“It’s not like in the movies,” said Cashin, referring to scenes that depict people either dying or nearly dying from sinking into quicksand over their heads.

Human bodies are more buoyant and will float on the top rather than sink to the bottom, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

“If you do find yourself stuck in quicksand, the best idea is to lean back so that the weight of your body is distributed over a wider area,” Encyclopedia Britannica further states. “Moving won’t cause you to sink. In fact, slow back-and-forth movements can actually let water into the cavity around a trapped limb, loosening the quicksand’s hold. Getting out will take a while, though.”

Both Talbot and Cashin advise people who recreate in the vicinity of a river or outdoors, in general, to do so with a companion. That way someone is on hand to help get you out of the mess or contact others who can.

One of St. George News’ own reporters recently had an experience with quicksand while visiting Lake Powell and can be read about here.

Photo Gallery

A teen boy got stuck in the Virgin River in Bloomington after likely running across a patch of quicksand behind the water, according to authorities. The boy was eventually pulled out of the muck by St. George firefighters, St. George, Utah, April 8, 2024 | Photo by Mori Kessler. St. George News

St. George firefighters carry a teen boy to a nearby ambulance after pulling him out of the Virgin River. Authorities say the boy likely stepped into a patch of quicksand beneath the surface of the water and got stuck till rescuers were able to pull him out, St. George, Utah, April 8, 2024 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.

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