Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office responds to Wildcat Creek drowning

Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office responds to Wildcat Creek drowning

Lafayette child is dead and another narrowly escaped drowning in the wildcat creek sunday.

The child who died was 11-years-old -- her 13 year-old brother survived.

The sheriff's office reports the area where they were swimming is quite dagerous.

News 18's micah upshaw joins us live to tell us more.

Micah?

Meredith, this body of water can be quite deceiving.

Some parts of this creek are knee high, while just a step over can be 8-feet deep.

Officers believe that could have been what caused this tragic incident.

R: we're very sorry for their tragedy that they're having to go through.

M: tippecanoe county sheriff's officers were first responders in this incident.

Captain robert hainje says they wish it could have ended much differently.

R: we wish that they would never have to go through something like this.

Unfortunately we did everything within our powers to save their child and unfortunately that was just impossible in this situation.

M: hainje says it took an hour to recover the child's body.

Neither she or her brother had on flotation devices.

R: i think there's a false sense of security that people get into moving water and they think, okay i'm just out enjoying the water, the dangers is you can't see where you're stepping.

M: captain hainje says the area where these siblings were swimming is particularly dangerous.

It's located where two streams of water connect.

The constant water flow can create deep pockets of water.

Which makes some areas deeper than others.

R: i think people truly underestimate the power of the water, what looks like a very calm flow for the river or for the creeks really has a treacherous effect on us.

M: captain hainje suggests not swimming the creek at all but if you do to wear a life-jacket.

That goes for adults and children.

R: mother nature is relentless and she is unforgiving and people need to remember that our confidence in our abilities is much higher than what it should be when we enter water.

Captain hainje says it's actually a ticketed offense for those who chose to swim here and not to wear a flotation device.

That rule applies to children ages 14 and under.

Reporting live at the wildcat creek, micah upshaw, news 18.

Indiana state police sergeant kim riley is retiring from the lafayette post.

We'll tell you what's kept