2 rescued from flooded Menomonee River after going in after dog

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Two people were rescued from the flooded Menomonee River in Menomonee Falls Monday afternoon, Aug. 11.

Witnesses say they were clinging to trees before one eventually lost strength and was swept away with the current. Rescuers were able to pull him from the water further downstream, but a dog was not recovered.

The water levels were much higher than normal after recent historic rainfall. But the fire chief said the strength of the current is not the only danger: the temperature of the water was low enough to drop their core body temperatures, and submerged rocks and trees also posed a threat.

Eyewitness Donovan Boyle told us he saw the man who got swept away. "You can see him come up for air, and I’m like, 'He’s right here.' He goes back down and I start running with the current and he just never came back up."

Witnesses feared the worst as the two men fought for their lives in the Menomonee River for roughly an hour.

Authorities believe a dog fell into the river first, and the two men went in after it.

Eyewitness Bella Sciortino said, "People were grabbing logs and sticks, trying to pull them up, but it wasn’t working."

As a crowd gathered, witnesses tried to help, then police.

Carter Patti said, "They were trying to pull him with a branch at first."

When the fire department arrived, rescuers got into cold water rescue suits. Both people were still conscious when they arrived, but they were losing strength.

Menomonee Falls Fire Chief Joe Pulvermacher told us, "This will drain your energy quickly. It’ll take your body temperature down quickly."

One of the men was knocked loose and was pulled down by the current.

Boyle said, "I thought he drowned. I thought they weren't going to be able to find him."

Rescuers -and witnesses- ran downstream to try and find him.

Dominic Sauve said, "I asked the officer, 'Do you want me to go in there?' And he was like, 'Don't even risk it.'"

Back at the original scene, rescuers were able to get the other man onto an inflatable raft and to safety.

Sandra Dempsey watched it unfold. "They put the person in there and we see him moving. And he actually went and shook the hand of one of the rescuers."

But the second man was still unaccounted for.

Bladen Martinez pointed downriver and explained, "Down there, there's a drop-off. And when he dropped off, we didn't see him resurface."

A short time later, and a half-mile downstream, rescuers pulled the second man out of the river.

Chief Pulvermacher said, "It’s very difficult to initiate these rescues. It's very difficult to be successful at these rescues. Today we’re fortunate that we have two conscious people."

Pulvermacher is optimistic the two people pulled from the water will be ok.