10-Year-Old California Girl Rescued After Falling Into Freezing Water A search-and-rescue team on a nearby training exercise came to her rescue.

 -- A 10-year-old girl was pulled from freezing water in California in a dramatic rescue that was caught on cellphone video.

Samantha White, 10, was with her parents near the Castle Peak Mountain in California over the weekend when she fell through the snow.

“At first I thought it was just an indent, but I fell in and I felt one of my legs hanging,” Samantha told ABC station KXTV in Sacramento.

“I was scared and calling out for help,” she said. “My feet were freezing.”

Samantha’s father, William White, scrambled to help his daughter.

“I stuck out the snow pole for her to grab and she wasn't strong enough to hold on to it,” White told KXTV. "I noticed that she was starting to sink."

Luckily for the Whites, a search-and-rescue team was nearby on an overnight training exercise and came to Samantha’s rescue. The team used a system of ropes to rescue Samantha.

"If not for the actions of the Marin County Search and Rescue Team, Samantha's disposition might be quite different,” Thomas Jordan, emergency service coordinator for Marin County, told reporters at a news conference.

Authorities say Samantha had fallen 10 feet below the surface of the snow. A bridge underneath the weight of the snow had collapsed, creating an opening smaller than a manhole, according to authorities.

Samantha told KXTV she is thankful for her rescuers. “I was happy that they were training there,” she said.