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A 9-year-old Colorado girl died after falling into the Provo River in Provo Canyon, Utah, in July 2009 and being carried about a mile downstream.

Caitlin Buchkowski of Aurora, Colorado, was near Bridal Veil Falls with relatives on a Monday afternoon when she went into the water. The family had traveled to Utah for a relative's 50th birthday, according to news accounts at the time.

Three family members tried to pull her out but could not keep her from floating downriver, the Utah County Sheriff's Office said. A passerby later spotted her pinned underneath a rock near Nunns Park and Canyon Glen, roughly a mile from where she fell in, and called for help.

Crews reached her more than 30 minutes after she went into the water. Provo Deputy Fire Chief Gary Jolley said she had likely been in the cold river for at least 40 minutes.

She was flown by medical helicopter to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City at about 12:40 p.m. and was in critical condition when she arrived. "Her condition was critical the moment that she got there," Utah County Sheriff's Lt. Yvette Rice said. "I don't know what steps they took as far as treatment went, but her condition was critical the entire time."

Caitlin died at the hospital about 5:25 p.m. the following day. The cause was drowning. The Utah County Sheriff's Office investigated and described the death as an accident.