Adam Sodders and his uncle knew they needed to help a fawn in trouble while the pair fished May 20 at Yellow River State Forest in Allamakee County.

Sodders, a 22-year-old reporter with the Marshalltown Times-Republican, told the Register last week that he and his uncle were looking for a good spot to fish when his uncle spotted the fawn stuck in the river water. It was deep in a crevasse of two bluffs.

"We were going over who should go and get it out," Sodders said. "I decided to go just because I figured I could maybe keep it up if it did go in the water."

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Sodders maneuvered his way through the water and over to the fawn, but when he got close to it, the fawn had bolted.

"I was just going to let it go and see if it could get to land by itself," Sodders said, adding that he didn't think the water was as deep as what he estimated.

Once the fawn began to swim, though, it had difficulty. It was making "loud noises of alarm."

"I could hear it gurgling," Sodders explained. "Made it sound like it was taking in some water.

"Once it started drowning, I didn't really think."

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So Sodders "plucked it up out of the water and climbed out to the ledge by where we were" and let it go. His uncle recorded video of the rescue with his iPhone.

They later sent the video to Sodders' father, Steve — a deputy with the Marshall County Sheriff's Department — who shared the clip on his personal Facebook page. It had more than 6,000 views as of Thursday morning, and Sodders said people in the community have praised him for his efforts.

Sodders said he and his uncle continued to fish for about another hour after saving the fawn. He caught only one fish that day — a rainbow trout. But he headed home knowing he saved a young deer's life.

"I don't think what I did was spectacular," Sodders said. "It just didn't feel right leaving it there."

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