© KHONOfficer Bryan DeWitt
But when they flipped the vehicle over, they discovered there was nobody in the car who was able to speak, reported Deseret News.
"The only people in there were the deceased mother and the child," said Officer Bryan DeWitt, of Spanish Fork police.
Lynn Jennifer "Jenny" Groesbeck was pronounced dead at the scene, but her 18-month-old daughter, Lily, was still alive after remaining strapped upside-down in a car seat for up to 14 hours.
The toddler was listed Sunday in critical but stable condition at a nearby hospital.
Investigators said the 25-year-old Groesbeck was driving home about 10:30 p.m. Friday from visiting her parents in Salem when her car went off the road and crashed into the water.
A fisherman spotted the vehicle about 12:30 p.m. Saturday and called police to report the crash.
"We were down on the car and a distinct voice says, 'Help me, help me,'" DeWitt said.
"It wasn't just something that was just in our heads," said Officer Tyler Beddoes, who insists the voice did not sound like a child. "To me it was plain as day because I remember hearing a voice. I think it was Dewitt who said, 'We're trying. We're trying our best to get in there.'"
"How do you explain that? I don't know," Beddoes added.
They were upset to discover the unconscious child, believing she might be dead, but they were encouraged when they saw her eyes flutter as they cut the straps on the car seat.
Several firefighters were treated for hypothermia after jumping into the river, which ran 10 feet deep in some places, to rescue the child.
"We've gotten together and just talking about it, and all four of us can swear that we heard somebody inside the car saying, 'Help,'" said Officer Jared Warren. "We're not exactly sure where that voice came from."
Watch this video report posted online by KHON-TV:
Wow! This is definitely an event that John Newland would have hosted an episode about, no doubt.
One has to believe, though, that the hapless mother may have died just before the rescuers reached them, and likely was the source of the voice. The autopsy should shed some very informative light on this most intriguing, but horribly tragic, incident.
Of course, those of us with a penchant for the paranormal will quickly jump to conclude that it was the mother's voice calling out to save her child from beyond the grave.
Like I said, "One Step Beyond".
Really eerie stuff (but absolutely overjoyed that the child was saved!)
Great work by the Utah Police. So nice to see law enforcement helping to save, rather than kill, innocents they encounter through their work. Bravo!
But getting back to the paranormal angle.....
Unfortunately, as my ancient, decrepit computer will not allow me to watch any YouTube vids (not enough memory, I suspect), if the authorities have determined how long the mother had been deceased before the rescuers entered the vehicle, post what was said in that regard, please. It will be VERY interesting to know if the mother truly was deceased for a long time prior to the arrival of the rescuing officers. If so, wow, that's really a story for late, dark and stormy nights around a roaring fire, and just the thing to send impressionable kids to bed with. Just leave the night-light on for them...... and me! ;-)