Location: 7300 Kern River Hwy, Kernville

Incident Date: 5/31/16

Incident Time: 1500 hours

Case Number: 16-06952

Victim: Debra Brown

City: Kernville

Posted by: Media Relations

On Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at approximately 1500 hours, The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding a 50-year-old female who was clinging to a tree in the middle of the Kern River near McNally’s Restaurant after she had been swept away by the fast moving water.

Tulare County Sheriff’s resident deputies arrived on scene and were able to throw the subject a line and life jacket. With the assistance of the Kern County Sheriff's Swiftwater Rescue Team, U.S. Forest Service Personnel and Cal Fire personnel, the subject was brought back to shore safely with only minor injuries. 

This is the fourth swiftwater rescue operation in Tulare County this summer since the Memorial Day Holiday weekend. A total of 16 individuals have been rescued during those operations in Tulare County’s rivers so far this summer. 

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public of the dangers of fast-moving rivers and white water. Swimming in lakes, rivers and streams is different than swimming in a pool. More skills and energy are required for natural water environments due to cold water, fast currents, waves and rocks and trees in rivers that create hazards and dangerous rapids. Know your abilities and know the abilities of others in your group. Please do not enter white water, rivers or lakes without proper safety equipment, training and knowledge of what is safe.