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Not even a life jacket was enough to save 15-year-old Brenda Montgomery. Rescue crews say high waters and one strong current were the two main factors that played a role in her death. Madison Township Fire Chief Nick Garver was one of the first to arrive at the Licking River on Sunday after 15-year-old Brenda Montgomery and her foster parents fell from their kayaks. It was in an area that had uh rushing water and that complicated uh rescue efforts. The family held on to a log jam for several minutes. Garver says the team became trapped underwater for about 7 minutes before crews were able to reach her. She was wearing a life jacket.
Rescue crews say the strongest current also created challenging conditions for first responders. We had to fight against the current to get back to the log dam and then kind of manually crawl back up to the front of it. Uh at that point she was still underwater. Um was there everything we could do to keep her head above water? She was pronounced dead at Licking Memorial Hospital. Local fire crews say water rescues have increased in Licking County since the pandemic. They say many of those emergencies can be prevented with proper preparation. If there's any bit of flood water, um you know, you can check online to see what the level is. Uh if it is above normal, I would recommend if this is
your first time doing it, don't. Several local fire departments have vehicles equipped for water rescues. It's one of the things that, you know, we encounter a lot and so we have uh a lot of water rescue stuff and a lot of personnel is trained in water rescue. Fire crews also say taking water safety courses. Other tips would be uh notify family and friends of where you're going to put in and what time and where you intend to get out and about what time you think you're going to get out. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is picking up the investigation from here. Reporting on your side in Licking County, I'm Erin Simon, ABC 6 News.
