A horse was airlifted out of California’s Santa Ana River on Sunday after being trapped in the water for nearly 24 hours, officials said.
Two horses and their riders were traveling along the river in Eastvale at around 6 p.m. on Saturday when they got spooked and ran off. One horse was quickly found, but the second horse, named Conquistador, was missing.
The horse wasn’t spotted until early Sunday, trapped in the mud in the riverbed.
Crews from CAL Fire and an animal rescue team from the City of Norco responded to assist in the rescue Sunday near the 2700 block of Shadow Canyon Circle. Fire officials said they located the rider, whom they initially feared had been harmed.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office also responded with a helicopter to assist.
A rescue team entered the wash to prepare the horse to be extricated, and the animal was hoisted to safety by the sheriff’s department’s helicopter crew shortly before 7 p.m.
The National Weather Service on Sunday reported that the valleys of Riverside County saw 1–3 inches of rain over the course of three days, with more than 4 inches in the Santa Ana Mountains.
Story via TMX