“Mary Marshall, 63, of Menifee, California was floating in the raft and wearing a harness attached to her dog’s leash. When Marshall’s raft hit a tree, the dog “freaked out,” jumping into the river, and Marshall fell into the water. The woman and her dog were trapped in a strainer, The woman and her dog were unable to escape the strainer and were forced to “remain submerged,” as the dog’s leash was tangled around a tree branch.”
Fresno County Sheriff's Office
Woman and Dog Drown in Kings River
Members of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Unit have identified Saturday’s drowning victim as 63 year old Mary Marshall of Menifee, CA (Riverside County). Marshall, a retired member of the U.S. Marine Corps., passed away along with her dog.
Around 3:30 pm on August 17th, Fresno County Sheriff’s dispatchers received an emergency call regarding a woman who had fallen into the Kings River and had not resurfaced. Deputies with our Boating Enforcement Unit immediately responded to the area of S. Rio Vista and E. Vino Avenues in Reedley. After searching for more than two hours, deputies with the boating and dive units ultimately recovered Marshall and her large German Shepherd. Neither of them was wearing a life jacket.
Deputies later learned Marshall was part of a group of a dozen friends who traditionally visit the Kings River each year to take part in a float downstream. Marshall tied her raft to another raft. Her dog was on a leash, which was tethered to a harness she was wearing. The rafts veered into a tree on the river, which caused them to get stuck. The dog jumped off the raft, causing it to flip over, sending Marshall into the water. Even more troublesome was her body was still attached to the dog by the leash. Both then got stuck in a strainer, a turbulent flow of water against an object that is difficult to escape. The leash became wrapped around a tree branch underwater, causing Marshall and her dog to remain submerged. Once deputies found them, they had to cut the leash to free them and bring both to the surface of the water.
The Sheriff’s Office warns those floating the river to never tie their rafts, tubes, etc. together. This creates a dangerous situation because if one floater experiences a problem, all others will as well because they do not have independent control of their rafts.
Additional safety measures include:
1) Wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket. Make sure it is secured and fits the person properly. Consider putting a pet life jacket on dogs as well.
2) Stay out of the water if you are not an experienced swimmer.
3) Parents should watch their children at all times.
4) Do not mix alcohol and swimming. Alcohol causes swimmers to fatigue faster than normal and can create dangerous situations.
5) Understand that when it’s hot outside you will get tired faster than usual.
6) Respect the water. The temperature of the water remains cold and the current is often stronger than it appears. There can be debris in the water, which is difficult to see and may cause hazardous situations for swimmers.
7) Be careful of the mud on the bottom of lakes and rivers, it’s easy to sink in some spots and get your feet stuck. Also, use your feet to feel for drop off spots. River and lake bottoms can dramatically change from shallow to deep in a short distance.
