ENNIS — It started off like any other day for Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Elmer.
“It’s a lot of just driving around. We’ve got a massive county here,” Elmer said.
Elmer has been on the force for nearly three years, following in his father’s footsteps. But a few weeks ago, he received a call unlike most others.
“I don’t remember exactly who called, but they basically said there was a deer stuck out on the ice and it couldn’t get back to land,” Elmer said.
When the deputy arrived at the frosty, windy Ennis Lake and spotted the animal stranded far from shore, he knew he had to step in.
WATCH: When duty calls. This deputy rescued a deer stranded on ice at Ennis Lake by literally pushing it to safety
“Yeah, I think the first thing was if I was actually going to be able to make it out there without falling in the ice or anything like that. That was really my first thought,” he said.
Meeting at the scene weeks later, Elmer pointed out where the rescue took place.
“I want to say it was about 200 feet — basically where the ice is no longer ice — that was about how far she was out there,” he said.
Now unfrozen, the lake looks different, but Elmer remembers taking extra precautions that day to make sure it was safe before heading out to rescue the deer.
“When I finally made it to the deer, I was just hoping he wasn’t going to kick me. I’ve been kicked by many animals before, and it’s never fun,” Elmer said.
With no ropes or tools on hand, Elmer improvised.
“I just started pushing it and sliding it across the ice to get it to go toward land,” he recalled.
Throughout the rescue, Elmer comforted the animal.
“‘You’re good, buddy. We’ll get you over there,’” he can be heard saying in body camera footage.
Full video of rescue:
“I grew up down in Dillon, so I worked on a few ranches. You’re kind of out there by yourself, so you start talking to anything you can. The animals usually are the ones that listen,” he said.
Bambie did listen — and eventually made it safely to shore. Elmer then chased the deer toward the woods to ensure it didn’t wander back onto the ice.
But the day’s deer encounters weren’t over.
“Funny part is, right after I cleared from this call, probably an hour later, we had a deer stuck in the river over here in Ennis,” Elmer said.
That deer was able to free itself without help.
Elmer had recorded the rescues on his body camera but didn’t immediately share them.
“I kind of forgot to tell everyone about it. I was going to tell my sheriff about it, and I told a few other deputies to go watch it. Our captain watched it and said, ‘We need to get this on the social media page,’” Elmer said.
Now, with 78 comments and nearly 50,000 views on the video, Elmer said he's glad he's able to share this rescue.
“There are lots of negative things on the internet nowadays, so I think having something positive is always nice,” he said.
