Good Samaritan meets 10-year-old girl she rescued from Fox River

BURLINGTON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A good Samaritan saved a 10-year-old girl from drowning in a river and CBS 58 News cameras were there for their first meeting since the emotional rescue.

The Fox River is several feet deep with some fast-moving water. Emma Parton was standing in the middle of it on her toes with a foot caught in a rock, gasping for air, when she saw her guardian angel on the bank.

The last time Emma saw the woman who saved her, she was on her way to the hospital. Now, Emma is able to say thank you.

That woman is Tracy Carpenter. She rescued Emma from the river Thursday, pulling her to shallow water, and then to an island to wait for first responders. 

"You hear a kid screaming and it becomes your kid and you just go," said Carpenter.

Frightened herself, Carpenter only paused to call 911 before plunging in.

"I just wanted to get to her. I just wanted to touch her. I just wanted her to not be afraid anymore," said Carpenter.

"I'm so grateful, so grateful," said Parton.

Emma's mother Tammy calls Tracy their angel. "Just the right place at the right time."

Tracy also has a gift for Emma, a quartz stone shaped to symbolize their bond.

"I gave her a heart because she's always going to have a little piece of my heart forever," said Carpenter. 

Carpenter has the natural helping instinct. She's CPR trained and is studying to be a nurse.