Good Samaritans rescue moose stuck in frozen river in Idaho

BENWAH COUNTY , Idaho, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A group of helpful passersby including an Idaho magistrate helped rescue a deer trapped in a frozen river.

Benewah County Magistrate Judge Doug Payne was driving along the St. Joe River and found the driver observing the moose stuck in the river with only its legs sticking above the ice, the Idaho Statesman reported.

"I walked about a quarter mile downstream and saw the cow, hopelessly stuck in the ice," Payne said.

Payne waited for about an hour before driving for help and running into Fish and Game Officer Julie Lininger who had received the call and accompanied Payne back to the scene.

The two arrived at the river to meet up with the other drivers and wrapped a nylon tow strap around the moose as they struggled to lift it from the ice.

"Moose can weigh 800 pounds, easy," Lininger told KREM.

The group eventually managed to cut the ice away and free the moose as it immediately sprung up and rushed past the rescuers toward its calf.

"She made a hard charge at us, and we all went running off the ice," Lininger said. "But everyone went home with a great story."

Earlier in December a group of firefighters found themselves in a similar situation when they walked a moose out of a frozen river in New Brunswick.