On August 2, 2023, Jen and her friends Stephanie and Leila set out to celebrate Jen’s birthday by floating the Jefferson River in Montana. What began as a relaxing day quickly turned chaotic. The trio spotted an otter on the bank but continued floating, observing the critter from a distance. Suddenly the otter attacked from beneath the tube Jen was sharing with her friend. Jen’s friend was bitten, causing Jen to be thrown into the water, where she was brutally mauled. The otter bit her face, arms, and legs, trying to hold her underwater.

Separated from her friends and badly injured, Jen began to lose hope as she drifted in the middle of the river, bleeding and becoming hypothermic. Thankfully, Leila managed to find cell service and call 911. Rescue efforts were challenging due to the remote location, but multiple agencies responded, including Life Flight Network’s Butte helicopter. Jen found comfort hearing the “whomp, whomp” of the helicopter’s blades and seeing the emergency responders approaching.

Life Flight Network flew Jen to Bozeman Deaconess Regional Medical Center in Bozeman, Montana, where she was treated for multiple lacerations, puncture wounds, and hypothermia. She was discharged the next day after receiving stitches and wound care.

Jen has since returned to her family and work, and the trio is healing. They’ve commemorated the experience with matching otter tattoos and plan to do another float trip, armed with a diving knife from Jen’s husband. Though the attack was traumatic, Jen remains grateful to the first responders and urges kindness after enduring public scrutiny and cyberbullying following the incident. “No one expects to be attacked by an otter,” she says, “it’s one of those worst-case scenarios you can’t anticipate.”