'Water to my neck': Sask. woman called a hero after saving boy who fell through ice

A northern Saskatchewan woman is being called a hero after risking her own life to save a drowning boy.

Elaine Ratt, a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, had no idea what was coming as she clocked in for her shift at the Sucker River Community Store on Sunday. Her shift was abruptly interrupted by a young panicked boy who rushed in begging for help.

"The fear in [his] eyes scared me," Ratt said.

Ratt rushed after the boy, dialing 911 as he led her to Sucker River Lake, where his friend had fallen through the ice as they were playing.

"I see that he's still above water and that he was struggling," Ratt said. "I went to the edge right where the ice was. I just kept telling the boy, 'keep your head above water, keep your head above water.'"

Ratt said she carefully walked onto the thin ice toward the boy, but heard the sounds of cracking beneath her. She got onto her hands and knees and began crawling.

"By the time I was getting toward him, he was already starting to float down underneath the water," she said.

Ratt said the ice got thinner the closer she got to the boy. It broke and she plunged into the icy water.

She said her only focus was getting the boy out of the water, despite the danger.

Ratt said she hoisted the boy onto a solid patch of ice and made sure that he was responsive. He was able to roll toward the shore.

Only then did she turn her attention to her own situation.

"It was a shock. It didn't click to me how deep the water was going to be when I went in," Ratt said.

"I was kind of afraid that I couldn't get out because every time I tried to get out of the water, [the ice] kept breaking. The water was up to my neck."

She finally managed to lift her upper body out and swing her leg over the ice just enough to get up.