6 min read Man Leaps Into Freezing River To Save A Drowning Bear "I believe we were meant to be there at that moment in time."

Earlier this month, when Elijah Barkley headed out on a fishing trip with some friends and family in West Virginia, he never imagined that he'd end up saving a life. But that's exactly what he did.

Elijah Barkley

While traveling back to camp from the river, Barkley was stopped by a forest ranger accompanied by a bear handler. They asked him to be on the lookout for a lone, young bear in the area. Turns out, the cub was an orphan, apparently having lost his mother — and based on recent sightings, was faring very poorly on his own. Sure enough, not long after continuing on his way, Barkley spotted the bear in question.

Elijah Barkley

"He looked as if he was just completely wore out or something was wrong, because we pulled up closer to him and he wouldn’t move," Barkley told The Dodo. "He kinda just stayed there." The forest ranger and bear handler were still in the vicinity, so Barkley motioned them to the spot by the riverside where the cub appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

Elijah Barkley

The bear handler, Joel Rosenthal, runs a wildlife rehab center called Point of View Farm, Inc. He'd been trying to track down the lonely cub in order to take him to his facility and save him. As it turns out, Barkley had found the cub just in the nick of time. Before Rosenthal had the chance to sedate him, the cub's paws gave out from under him while trying to cross the river. Too exhausted to even lift his head from the water, the cub was now beginning to drown.

Elijah Barkley

With the cub drifting away downstream, his death seemingly imminent, Barkley leapt into action. "I saw his head go down underwater, and that’s when I made the instinctive decision to run after the bear," he said. "My mind was so solely thinking of getting to that bear as fast as I could that I didn’t think about the risks." Barkley traversed the slippery rocks at the riverside and jumped into the freezing water — swimming toward the cub before it was too late. "I got to him pretty quickly, and immediately grabbed the bear by the scruff on the back of his neck," Barkley said. He then hauled the cub to shore.

Elijah Barkley

For several moments, the young bear remained lifeless — but then he slowly began to rouse. Barkley had reached him in time. "I immediately carried him over to [Rosenthal] so he could check things out," Barkley said. The bear, now safe, was tranquilized and wrapped in towels to sleep in the bear handler's truck.

Elijah Barkley

The heroism of Barkley's actions wasn't lost on those who witnessed the scene — but he's just happy he was able to help. "Everyone thanked me," Barkley said. "I had never in my life thought of an event that would take place like this. I believe we were meant to be there at that moment in time." Now, things are looking up for the cub.