According to local authorities, a 10-year-old girl helped save her father’s life following a kayaking accident on a swollen Louisiana river.
The daughter, whose name has not been released, called 911 on Tuesday, June 17, after her father was injured while kayaking in the Bogue Chitto River, according to a news release from the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office (WPSO).
The sheriff’s office stated that the girl informed them that her father was “bleeding badly” after “hitting his head.”
The girl stated that she had relocated her father to a nearby sandbar, kayaked downstream, and called for assistance upon reaching the Warnerton Bridge on LA-438.
Fire District 9 crews were the first to arrive at the scene, “and attempted to wade upstream with the daughter to find her father,” the WPSO stated. However, due to “strong currents and deep water,” their mission was quickly foiled.
The Franklinton Fire Department (FFD) then arrived on the scene and requested a boat from the WPSO, according to the sheriff’s office. A WPSO captain “quickly responded and launched into the river” with assistance from a lieutenant.
Eventually, crews located the injured father about a quarter mile upriver from the bridge. He had been “rescued from the sandbar” before being “handed over to EMS personnel for treatment.”
The WPSO did not reveal the father’s name or condition in its news release.
The WPSO stated that rivers and creeks in the parish “can become extremely dangerous as water levels rise and currents increase” after periods of “excess rain.” This frequently results in logs being submerged, which are typically “visible when the water is low,” they added.
“We ask that everyone exercise caution on the waterways and if possible, carry emergency radios,” according to them.
The WPSO also warned that “more rural parts of our Parish have limited cell service,” and suggested that people carry a radio with them in case they needed to contact emergency services.
“Having a radio that can reach nearby emergency response personnel makes it easier to contact us, and easier to find you when help is needed,” they told me.
