A mom from Anchorage, Alaska, disappeared on Saturday, December 23, 2023, when celebrating her 18th anniversary and taking a walk with her husband and two of her dogs. As they were walking along the North Fork Eagle River trail, one of their dogs tried to drink water from an opening but fell through the ice, so the woman, who has been identified as Amanda Richmond Rogers, 45, tried to save her dog.
"Before even thinking, I was jumping into the water to save our dog," Amanda's husband, Brian Rogers, said in a statement shared with Alaska News Source. "I held onto the edge of the ice as I frantically ducked under the ice reaching into darkness trying to feel and grab our dog. I felt nothing. I ran out of breath and jumped out of the opening. I took four steps down stream to look for the dog through the ice again." Though Brian was able to get out of the water, Amanda never came back out.
Brian explained that their "instincts took over" when they attempted to rescue their dog. Besides, to them, dogs are members of the family.
"We have a room in our house dedicated to the memory of all our previous dogs. We have tattoos of our dog’s paws. Amanda has around 35 thousand photos and videos on her phone from our 18 years of marriage and a majority of them of our dogs," Brian said in the statement. "She did not jump in to save 'just a dog,' it was a family member. To me and our 4 boys she died a hero."
Brian also explained that their walk together was just the start of what was supposed to be their anniversary celebration. Brian and Amanda got married on December 23, 2005, and had four children together.
“Amanda was an amazing mother and has raised four tremendous children. She worked as an emergency room nurse, a death scene investigator and a pediatric hospice nurse but the job she excelled at was mom," he said in the statement. "She enjoyed the outdoors, her family, all animals, and adventure. She has touched so many people’s lives for the better. I could go on and on and on."
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The search for Amanda began on Saturday and continued on Tuesday. The dog has also not been found.
"I turned around and Amanda was getting into the water. I knew from the look on her face she was going in to save our dog," Brian said in his statement. "I yelled but doubt she even heard me as she was completely concentrating on saving the dog. Before I could get back to the opening to try and grab her I could see her SWIMMING downstream under the ice and then out of sight."
The couple had planned on going on a date after their walk. They had just spent the past several weeks getting ready to celebrate Christmas.
