Five years after a near-fatal moment on the Snake River, an Idaho woman reunited with the man whose life she helped save — this time, at his wedding.
In June 2020, Rachelle Ruffing and her family were paddleboarding on the Snake River in Twin Falls, Idaho, when they paused for a photo. As they smiled for the camera, Ruffing noticed an empty kayak drifting through the falls and starting to sink, according to WFAA.
Moments later, she spotted Michigan native Brendon Lease — face down in the water, his life jacket barely visible. “All I could see was the top of his life jacket, and his head was suspended under the water,” Ruffing recalled.
Her daughter’s boyfriend quickly pulled Lease onto a nearby pontoon boat. Ruffing and a stranger performed CPR while another daughter called 911. After several tense minutes, Lease began coughing up water before deputies arrived and transported him to a local hospital.
“Brendon’s mouth was open, his eyes were open. It was very haunting,” Ruffing said. “His fingernails were blue, there was no pulse, no breath.”
That night, Ruffing — a speech pathologist — couldn’t sleep, fearing that Lease might suffer brain damage from the lack of oxygen. But by the next day, her fears eased when his travel companions shared that he was “walking and talking.”
“I know there are miracles because Brendon is one,” she said. “Because Brendon is a miracle.”
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A “Miracle Man” Marries
In October 2025, more than five years after that day, Ruffing attended Lease’s wedding — an emotional reunion between rescuer and survivor. Though they had stayed in touch on social media, they hadn’t met in person since the rescue. Still, Ruffing felt a lasting bond. “I kind of know how he feels,” she explained. “I believe in energy — that we share it as humans — and I can feel his.”
When she arrived at the wedding in the Midwest, Ruffing met Lease’s parents and his bride. “Brendon’s dad just hugged me and sobbed,” she said. “He was just really grateful to meet us. I got to meet Brendon’s mom and his now wife — she’s beautiful. It was a really good experience.”
Ruffing described a sense of pride she could hardly put into words. “It’s like I think of him as my own — I was able to help him, and I’m so glad the outcome has been so positive. That night, I had visions of him in a wheelchair or vegetative state. To see him walking, working, getting married — that’s rewarding.”
Healing Through Connection
The reunion held deeper meaning for Ruffing. The hospital where Lease was treated after the drowning was the same place where her father passed away in November 2022 following a heart attack. “They did everything they could,” she said. “That made Brendon’s survival feel even more miraculous. I think I really needed to go to Brendon’s wedding to heal because losing my dad was devastating.”
“It was a very therapeutic trip for me,” Ruffing continued. “Brendon and his family helped me heal. I felt like I needed to see him and get recharged from him — like it was his turn to help me.”
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A Bond Beyond Words
Ruffing believes their connection runs deeper than coincidence. “I feel connected to him through our souls,” she said. “I told him, you have something you’re supposed to do on this earth — people were put in your path for a reason. You touched my life and I touched yours.”
Reflecting on the experience, she added, “When two people go through something like that, a connection forms. Around the holidays, I think of him more. I’m excited for his first year of marriage.”
