Body recovered from Platte River confirmed to be teen who went missing near Fremont
FREMONT, Neb. (WOWT) - The body of a missing teenager has been recovered from the Platte River.
The mother of 17-year-old Jackson Potter confirmed to 6 News Thursday night his body was found near Sokol Camp, south of Valley in Douglas County. Authorities had been searching for Potter after he was swept away by the raging waters of the Platte south of Fremont Sunday night.
Sgt. Brie Frank with Dodge County Sheriff’s Office told our partners at 6 News his body was found about 11 miles along the river from where he was last seen.
She said people in the area saw the body on the river and helped bring him in to land.
It was the “depth, current, and rain” that caused Potter’s body to travel further and faster down the river.
Our partners at 6 News spoke with Jennifer Black, Potter’s mother, just a few hours after she confirmed to officials it was her son’s body.
She said she’s very thankful for the multiple agencies that helped in the recovery effort. Though overwhelming, she and the rest of her family is relieved his body was found.
Jackson’s sister told our partners at 6 News they had gone to look for frogs near Hormel Park that night. She stepped into the water on a sandbar, and the current took her under. Jackson jumped in to grab her. She got out; he never did. It’s an action Jackson’s mother says she’s grateful for.
”I’m thankful that I did not end up losing two of my children, because there was a very high chance that could’ve happened,” said Jennifer Black. “So I pray and I am thankful that he saved her. It’s not that I wanted to choose one or the other. I just have to keep telling myself that he saved her. That’s what he chose to do. That’s what he wanted to do. That’s incredible.”
More than 50 personnel assisted with the effort to find Jackson.