VIDEO: Friends stage remarkable rescue of deer caught in sinkhole

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Thursday, October 9, 2014
Three Decorah, Iowa friends used their courage and ingenuity to rescue a deer trapped in a seven-foot-hole deep sinkhole.
Bryton Meyer / YouTube

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College students and former teammates Gavin Nimrod and Eric Smorstad, 20 and Bryton Meyer, 19 were driving to their alma mater Decorah High School for the school's homecoming game when they came across a rather unusual sight in the middle of the road.

A deer caught in and trying to escape a seven-foot-deep sinkhole.

So after the game finished, the three friends decided to take matters into their own hands to rescue the deer. According to the Des Moines Register, they stopped by a local Walmart to buy a rope and clip, and then drove to the field in Winneshiek County to help rescue the animal.

The boys shined their pickup truck lights on the hole and threw rope over the deer's antlers to help lift its head out of the hole. Once lifted, the boys then had to devise a way to release the rope off of the deer's head. They then added a slip knot to the clip, and the boys were able to then pull the deer high enough to lift its hind legs out of the hole to freedom.

"It was just something you don't get the opportunity to do, rescue a deer. So you get the chance and you take it," Nimrod told The Des Moines Register. "It was the most fun we've had since we won the state in football."

The remarkable rescue can be seen in the video above.

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