On Saturday afternoon, a woman and her dog drowned at King’s River in a rafting accident. Mary Marshall, 63, who lived in Riverside County, in Menifee, California drowned along with her dog.
According to the news release from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Marshall, a retired member of the U.S. Marine Corps, had fallen into the King’s River and had not resurfaced. Deputies with the Boating Enforcement Unit immediately responded to the emergency call and rushed to the area of S. Rio Vista and E. Vino Avenues in Reedley.
Teams searched for more than two hours, employing both boating and dive units, and were able to recover the bodies of Marshall and her German shepherd, Suki. Neither one had been wearing a life jacket.
Marshall had been part of a group of friends who traditionally would meet at King’s River annually to take part in a float downstream. Marshall had tied her raft to another raft; Suki had been on his leash which was tethered to a harness Marshall was wearing.
The rafts veered into a tree on the river and were stuck. When the dog jumped off the raft, the raft flipped over, and Marshall fell into the water, but she was attached to the dog’s leash which became caught around a tree branch underwater. A whirlpool flow of water suddenly struck them, and neither Marshall or her dog could make it to the surface.
When their bodies were discovered, deputies found them caught up in the leash and had to cut them free to bring them up to the surface.
she had this harness that she put across her body, and it had a loop, and then she attached the leash to that, and the dog was attached to the leash. Unfortunately, it was a series of bad decisions. If she could have released the leash, the dog would have survived, and she may have survived too.
The Sheriff’s Office discourages rafters to tie their rafts or tubes to each other. This creates a dangerous situation if one of the rafts experience a problem – all of the other attached rafts or tubes will also be in danger and not able to get free in time – possibly to save a life.
The Sheriff’s Office has also listed additional safety measures:
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.
A GoFundMe link has been set up to help the family.
Rest in peace Mary and Suki.
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