A 63-year-old retired Marine from Menifee, Calif., drowned along with her dog after being trapped underwater in the Kings River during an annual float trip with friends. (Fresno County SO)
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Authorities have identified Mary Marshall, 63, of Menifee, Calif., a retired U.S. Marine Corps member, as the woman who drowned in the Kings River on Saturday. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office noted that this was the fourth river drowning in the county this year.
Marshall and her German Shepherd were found dead after being submerged in the river for more than two hours.
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On Saturday, sheriff’s dispatchers received a report of a woman who had fallen into the river near South Rio Vista and East Vino avenues in Reedley and hadn’t resurfaced. Deputies from the Boating Enforcement Unit conducted a search that included boating and dive teams.
Marshall was part of a group of about a dozen friends who annually visit the Kings River for a float downstream. She tied her raft to another raft, with her dog leashed to a harness.
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The rafts were caught by a tree, causing the dog to jump off and flip the raft, sending Marshall and her dog into the water.
Marshall remained tethered to her dog by the leash, and both were trapped by the current, which pinned them underwater.
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Deputies later found the leash wrapped around a submerged tree branch, preventing their escape. Rescuers had to cut the leash to recover their bodies.
Neither Marshall nor her dog was wearing a life jacket at the time.
Click here to donate to Mary Marshall’s GoFundMe.
