Man who died after saving woman in icy reservoir identified as Salt Lake Co. deputy
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The 20-year-old man who drowned in a Tooele County reservoir after pulling a woman out of the icy water was identified as a Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputy.
Emaloni Lutui “bravely sacrificed his life to save a woman who fell through the ice,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release Wednesday. “His last act was to push her out of the water.”
Body recovered out of icy Tooele reservoir after 4-hour search
Lutui, who went by the nickname “Loni,” saved his girlfriend Monday night on Settlement Canyon Reservoir, located just south of Tooele. The woman called 911 after Lutui didn’t come up from the water.
Search and rescue crews spent hours looking for Lutui in the dark, using boats, flood lights and an underwater robot. Before midnight, they pulled his body from under the ice.
Lutui’s girlfriend was treated for cold exposure and brought to an area hospital. She is expected to make a full recovery.
“It was very tragic news to us, and it’s taken us a few days to process what occurred,” Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said at a news conference. “We are extremely proud of Emaloni.”
Lutui was a recent graduate from the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office academy. The graduation ceremony was held just weeks ago, on Jan. 11. Since then he had been working in the county jail, undergoing more training.
“He was very excited [to be a deputy],” Rivera said. “His family was very proud of him.”
The sheriff said she met with Lutui’s family on Wednesday, noting that he has a young son, as well as many sisters and brothers.
“They are struggling right now,” Rivera said. “But they know that the way he died was the person that he was. He was a giving person and that showed it.”
The family is planning services for Lutui, who was a former marine. According to Rivera, the sheriff’s office will be present at the funeral, as will be an honor guard.
Lutui’s death was the second at the reservoir in the last year. In February of 2023, a 14-year-old boy fell through the ice and died.
On Tuesday, the Settlement Canyon Irrigation Company posted on Facebook that the reservoir is closed until further notice.
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