Teen drowns after saving girlfriend from Portneuf River

LAVA HOT SPRINGS — An Idaho teen drowned Saturday after rescuing his girlfriend from a current that had pulled her underwater in the Portneuf River, officials confirmed.

The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office identified the 17-year-old as Marcos Gil, KSL.com reports.

On Saturday, Gil’s girlfriend, a Utah native, was swimming in the river when the current pulled her underwater and she couldn’t resurface. Gil then jumped into the river and pushed the girl to the surface, which saved her life, confirmed officials with the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office.

Gil, however, did not survive.

The girl’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to help raise funds for Gil’s funeral expenses. The page identifies Gil as “a true hero.”

“My daughter was saved but tragically, Marcos was pulled under by the strong current and did not survive,” the page reads. “Unfortunately, we cannot express our gratitude to Marcos so we have set up this page to financially help his family through this tragedy.”

As of Monday morning, the page had garnered nearly $3,000.

The teenage girl is from Erda, Utah, but had recently been living with her father in Lava Hot Springs, the girl’s grandfather said.