Mom-of-four disappears under Alaska river ice trying to save her dog
'I doubt she even heard me as she was completely concentrating on saving the dog,' said husband Brian Rogers. 'Before I could grab her I could see her swimming downstream under the ice'
The search will resume at first light for the body of an Alaskan mom-of-four who disappeared while swimming under the ice of a frozen river in a desperate bid to save her drowning dog.
Amanda Richmond Rogers, 45, was hiking north of Anchorage with her dog Groot and her husband Brian Rogers on December 23 - their 18th wedding anniversary.
Groot fell through a small hole in the ice of the frozen Eagle River after stopping to take a drink, and first Brian, and then Amanda followed it into the water.
'She did not jump in to save 'just a dog', it was a family member,' Rogers, 49, said in a statement.
'To me and our four boys she died a hero.'
Rescuers have risked their own lives to try and find the missing mother in the Eagle River
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Relatives were heading to the family's home nearby for the first Christmas since the death of her father earlier this year.
The couple had dropped in on friends along the route of the North Fork Eagle River Trailhead and were having an 'amazing time' in one of Amanda's favorite places, Rogers said.
But their joy turned to horror when their beloved Irish Wolfhound toppled through the hole, and they dashed across the ice.
'I thought I saw a flash of a big white paw underneath the ice,' Rogers said.
'Before even thinking, I was jumping into the water to save our dog. 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 downstream to look for the dog through the ice again. 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.
'She is an emergency room nurse, trained to help and save people. 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 brutal Arctic weather has hampered even the experienced search and rescue teams
Search efforts will resume at first light with underwater drones and sonar equipment
'I waited and waited and am still waiting.
'To anyone wondering why we would jump in to save our dog I can only answer, our instincts took over and we went in without thought.'
Alaska State Troopers, the state's Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team, the Solstice Search, and the Alaska Wildlife Troopers have all been helping in the search since the alarm was raised early on Saturday afternoon.
Some rescuers had to halt their efforts early on Tuesday after equipment froze up in the bitter Arctic weather, and underwater drones, sonar equipment and specialist rescue dogs will be deployed when the search resumes on Wednesday.
'It is certainly a tragic event for the family, our thoughts are with them, especially with the closeness to the Christmas holiday,' Austin McDaniel of the Alaska State Troopers, said.
'But our focus is finding the missing woman so the family can have some closure.'
The couple met when they were both working as medics in Texas but made their permanent home in Alaska when Rogers was deployed there by the Air Force.
'Amanda loved her dogs nearly as much as our kids, they were our family,' he said.
'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.'
Rogers said he was overwhelmed by the 'incredible' support his family has received from their community, and that they are 'blessed to live in such a special place'.
'Amanda was an amazing mother and has raised four tremendous children,' he added.
'She worked as an emergency room nurse, a death scene investigator and a pediatric hospice nurse but the job she excelled at was mom.
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'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.'
Her sister Jennifer said Amanda would be remembered for her kindness.
'Her sons were everything to her,' she added.
The dog has not been found.
