Girl pulled from frigid creek by passing Marin County rescuers

Photo: Courtesy Marin County Sheriff's Office Marin County Search and Rescue youth members Lauren Knott and...

A 10-year-old girl who had fallen into a snowy creek near Donner Summit was yanked to safety by a search and rescue team from Marin County that just happened to be in the area to conduct training exercises, the Marin County sheriff’s office said.

Fourteen members of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team were returning to their camp near the Boreal ski resort when they came across the girl and her father, who was on the phone attempting to summon help.

“With much improvising, we were able to lower a rescue loop to her (and) pull her into our arms and safety,” said a statement from the team. “Very proud of how smoothly our team operated.”

Image of the hole slightly smaller than a street manhole cover 10 yr old Samantha White fell into while snowshoeing. pic.twitter.com/LPV93tUE9H — Marin County Sheriff (@MarinSheriff) February 22, 2016

The cold and wet girl had plummeted into the creek when a snow bridge gave way. After pulling her from the water, the rescuers gave her dry clothes and took her on a short hike to make sure she was all right.

“I can’t thank you enough for being in the right place at the perfect time,” said a woman believed to be the mother of the young girl, in a social media posting. “Our family appreciates it.”

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com