11-Year-Old Was Reportedly Trapped on Carnival Ride for Over 20 Minutes After Mom Heard a 'Loud Clanking Sound’

Mar. 15, 2025

Carnival Rides at night.Photo:Getty

Getty

An Oklahoma mom is speaking out after her 11-year-old son was allegedly stuck on a carnival ride for more than 20 minutes.

Video footageof the incident shows what appears to be festival employees examining the ride as they prop a ladder next to it.

“My son’s been stuck on this ride for 20 minutes now they’re going to attempt to get him down with a ladder at the Skiatook Pioneer Festival. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,” Rutledge says in the clip.

Stock image of a carnival during the day.Getty

Rutledge later told the outlets that she heard a “loud” noise before the ride malfunctioned.

“Dax got stuck on a ride, it was the Octopus Spider that goes up in the air and spins,” she explained. “It broke down. There was a loud clanking sound that could be heard throughout the carnival.”

“He doesn’t communicate well so he didn’t understand that the ride broke down. He didn’t understand that it was 30 minutes that we were waiting and everyone else was being rescued,” she said.

In a statement statement shared with PEOPLE, the Skiatook Chamber Office said, “Police officers were in the park for the entire duration of the Carnival, as they are every year. They, along with the fire department are looking into why the call to 911 cannot be found on their call logs.”

PEOPLE has reached out to the Skiatook Police Department and the owner of Fun Time Shows for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.

The carnival ride company owner, Clint Payne, told local outlets he wasn’t aware of the incident in a statement on Sept. 12.

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Pioneer Day Festival is Skiatook’s “annual founder’s day” celebration, according to theirofficial website. This year, the event kicked off with the carnival on Thursday, Sept. 12 and ended with a celebratory parade on Saturday, Sept. 14.

source: people.com