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Woman Rescued from Sandbar Near Iron Eagle

firedptNORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A dive team has rescued a 30-year-old woman from a sandbar near North Platte.

Melissa Stafford and Tristyn Jefferson had entered South Platte River to cool off on Tuesday afternoon. They soon were knocked off their feet by the current and struggled to reach safety.

About a mile downstream they made it to a sandbar. Jefferson went back in the water and eventually reached the riverbank. A friend who had not entered the water, Nathan Beebe, saw what happened and ran to the nearby Iron Eagle Golf Course, where he found a golfer with a cellphone to call 911.

Firefighters showed up a little after 2 p.m. They called in the county dive team, which reached Stafford and rescued her.

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