Ski resort makes changes after boy ends up in river

WALWORTH COUNTY (CBS 58) - A local ski resort has put changes in place after a scary crash sent a 10-year-old boy into a river.

Melissa Mastros’ 10-year-old son was skiing at Alpine Valley in early January when he lost control and went through a safety net.

He tumbled down a steep embankment, before ending up head first in the river.

He found himself under the water, tangled in the net.

“My mother-in-law said he was like a fish in a net,” said Mastros, who was not there at the time of the incident.

Her son was able to get to the surface, but was weighed down by his boots, and found himself stuck in neck deep water.

According to a post on Mastros’ Facebook page, her mother-in-law yelled for help.

Another skier and the ski patrol jumped in to help.

Once the boy was out of the water, it took a while to get the child up the embankment, using several people to pull him out.

Mastros is grateful her son is safe but frustrated by what she was told by a worker there.

“She also told me coincidentally, somebody else went in at six that night and that’s kind of when an alarm went off that night and I asked her how many people have been in that river, and she said 20 to 25,” said Mastros.

“I think one person in that river is one too many, and the fact that they’re not doing anything about it is sick,” she said.

But CBS 58 visited the hill Tuesday and found out they are doing something about it.

The resort has put in a new fence, they’ve also added ladders at all the lift chairs near the river, and they’ve lowered the water level down to just a foot or two.

All in response to what happened to Mastros.

We spoke to the chief of the ski patrol who says people do occasionally end up in the water, but it is far less than the 20-25 described by Mastros.

Mastros shared her story to create awareness.

She did say she is forever grateful to the alpine valley ski patrol and patrons who jumped in that day to help her son out.

Alpine Valley released a statement saying:

“Alpine Valley Resort is investigating this incident.  Alpine is committed to our guests' safety.”