By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First

CAMBRIDGE — Vermont State Police have released the dramatic video of the lifesaving effort by Trooper Michelle Archer in pulling an 8-year-old girl from an icy pond in Lamoille County last month.

The Vermont News First broke the story of Trooper Archer diving into the freezing water off East View Road in Cambridge  shortly before 9 a.m. Dec. 17 and saving the girl.

The girl was rushed to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington for treatment of injuries that were initially believed to be life-threatening. She has since made a complete recovery and returned home.

The Vermont State Police Victims Services Unit, which was engaged with the family from the start, shared the video with the family before it was released to news media outlets Friday, spokesman Adam Silverman said.  The release followed a series of requests under Vermont’s Public Records Law.

See Body-camera video of the rescue recorded by Trooper Archer. Footage may be seen in DropBox software.

The girl and a few siblings were playing near and on the surface of the pond, which is on private property near their home, police said.

The thin ice gave way, and two children fell into the water. The 80-year-old homeowner was able to reach and pull to safety a 6-year-old girl who was close to shore.  The 8-year-old was further away, near the center of the deep pond and the homeowner called 911, police said.

The body camera video of Archer shows going to the back of her SUV cruiser and pulling out a department-issued life preserver with a throw rope and running to the edge of the bone-chilling pond while getting information from a witness.   Archer discarded her gun belt and waded into the near-freezing pond without hesitation and eventually swimming to the girl. 

The underwater video shows Archer secured the girl and swam back to shore.   An unidentified man, one of the property owners, assists her initially as State Trooper Keith Cote arrives.

As she comes ashore, Archer yells, “Keith, she’s making noises.  She’s making noises.”

Cote can be heard twice telling Archer to get into some dry clothes.  Cote is then pictured picking up the girl off the ground, wrapping her in his arms and carrying the child through the snow to the waiting ambulance from Cambridge Rescue.

The names of the property owners, including the 80-year-old woman, have not been released by state police.

Archer eventually changed into warm, dry clothes and did not require medical treatment, police said.  Archer was on routine patrol and happened to be nearby at the time and arrived on scene less than five minutes after the call, state police said.

Vermont State Police leadership have commended Troopers Archer and Cote and the homeowner for their selfless, heroic conduct, and all three have been recommended to receive the agency’s Lifesaving Award, Silverman said.

The bitter cold water was an estimated 40 degrees, according to Lt. Cory Lozier, the state police commander for Lamoille and Chittenden Counties.

“As their Commander, I could not be more proud of Trooper Archer and Trooper Cote. Their swift actions and efforts were selfless and heroic. Both Troopers responded to the scene within minutes of the call and immediately went into action, with zero hesitation or regard for their own safety. Because of their actions that day, a very young girl is alive and well,” Lozier told Vermont News First.

In July, Troopers Archer and Cote also were the primary responding officers to a possible drowning complaint involving a 3-year-old child at the Smugglers’ Notch Resort waterpark.  The child, who fell into an uncovered underground water storage tank for a slash pad, was taken to the UVM Medical Center where he died a few days later.

State police hired Archer in January 2018 and she subsequently completed the basic 16-week course at the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford.  During her career, Archer has been assigned mostly to the Williston barracks, which is responsible for patrols in both Chittenden and Lamoille Counties.   She also was selected to do a two-month special assignment in Orleans County in 2021 due to a personnel shortage at the Derby barracks.

Cote joined the state police in April 2021 after working as a patrol officer for St. Albans City Police and also as a corporal with its Street Crimes Unit.  He was one of three city officers honored in 2018 with the police department’s highest award for bravery when they entered a burning apartment building to rescue an elderly double amputee, but not before his oxygen tank exploded knocking the officers off their feet.  In the end they helped evacuate 11 others, then-Police Chief Gary Taylor reported.

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The girl and a few siblings were playing near and on the surface of the pond, which is on private property near their home, police said.

The thin ice gave way, and two children fell into the water. The 80-year-old homeowner was able to reach and pull to safety a 6-year-old girl who was close to shore.  The 8-year-old was further away, near the center of the deep pond and the homeowner called 911, police said.

The body camera video of Archer shows going to the back of her SUV cruiser and pulling out a department-issued life preserver with a throw rope and running to the edge of the bone-chilling pond while getting information from a witness.   Archer discarded her gun belt and waded into the near-freezing pond without hesitation and eventually swimming to the girl. 

The underwater video shows Archer secured the girl and swam back to shore.   An unidentified man, one of the property owners, assists her initially as State Trooper Keith Cote arrives.

As she comes ashore, Archer yells, “Keith, she’s making noises.  She’s making noises.”

Cote can be heard twice telling Archer to get into some dry clothes.  Cote is then pictured picking up the girl off the ground, wrapping her in his arms and carrying the child through the snow to the waiting ambulance from Cambridge Rescue.

The names of the property owners, including the 80-year-old woman, have not been released by state police.

Archer eventually changed into warm, dry clothes and did not require medical treatment, police said.  Archer was on routine patrol and happened to be nearby at the time and arrived on scene less than five minutes after the call, state police said.

Vermont State Police leadership have commended Troopers Archer and Cote and the homeowner for their selfless, heroic conduct, and all three have been recommended to receive the agency’s Lifesaving Award, Silverman said.

The bitter cold water was an estimated 40 degrees, according to Lt. Cory Lozier, the state police commander for Lamoille and Chittenden Counties.

“As their Commander, I could not be more proud of Trooper Archer and Trooper Cote. Their swift actions and efforts were selfless and heroic. Both Troopers responded to the scene within minutes of the call and immediately went into action, with zero hesitation or regard for their own safety. Because of their actions that day, a very young girl is alive and well,” Lozier told Vermont News First.

In July, Troopers Archer and Cote also were the primary responding officers to a possible drowning complaint involving a 3-year-old child at the Smugglers’ Notch Resort waterpark.  The child, who fell into an uncovered underground water storage tank for a splash pad, was taken to the UVM Medical Center where he died a few days later.

State police hired Archer in January 2018 and she subsequently completed the basic 16-week course at the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford.  During her career, Archer has been assigned mostly to the Williston barracks, which is responsible for patrols in both Chittenden and Lamoille Counties.   She also was selected to do a two-month special assignment in Orleans County in 2021 due to a personnel shortage at the Derby barracks.

Cote joined the state police in April 2021 after working as a patrol officer for St. Albans City Police and also as a corporal with its Street Crimes Unit.  He was one of three city officers honored in 2018 with the police department’s highest award for bravery when they entered a burning apartment building to rescue an elderly double amputee, but not before his oxygen tank exploded knocking the officers off their feet.  In the end they helped evacuate 11 others, then-Police Chief Gary Taylor reported.