Crews rescue mom and daughter from Spokane River

Swiftwater rescuers pulled two stranded swimmers from a rock in the Spokane River back to safety onshore Saturday afternoon near Plante’s Ferry Park. Teams from Spokane Valley and the Spokane Fire Department responded to the report at about 2:40 p.m. Upon arrival, they found a mother and her teenage daughter surrounded by the cold, rushing water while the pair clung to a rock about 50 yards from shore. The Spokane Valley team reached the swimmers by kayak within five minutes. The mother and daughter decided to swim out to the rock but felt too cold to swim back to shore through the strong current, according to Fire Marshal Kevin Miller. A passerby on the Centennial Trail called 911 to get the women some help. They escaped the water without any injuries. Miller urges swimmers to wait until temperatures heat up and the current slows down before getting into the river.