Woman Drowns After Rescuing Children in Clearwater County

A woman has drowned after pulling a few younger children to safety on Clearwater Lake in northern Clearwater County.

According to the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday, August 17th at approximately 3:45 p.m., their office received a 911 call about a drowning near the Clearwater Dam on Clearwater Lake in northern Clearwater County. According to witnesses, 18-year-old Raina Lynn Neeland of rural Bagley had pulled a few younger children to safety before she went under water. CPR was performed on Neeland by bystanders, but she was unresponsive. Witnesses had estimated that she had been in the water for approximately ten minutes. Sanford Life Flight was called to the scene, and life saving measures were performed, but medics were not able to resuscitate the eighteen-year-old.

Witnesses told deputies that a group of children had been swimming in the river near the dam. Some of the children were caught up in turbulent water that was coming over the dam, and the children could not free themselves. The water level at the dam was considerably higher due to a recent rainfall.

When the first deputy arrived on scene, an eight-year-old girl had been pulled from the water and was unresponsive. Bystanders at the scene had performed life saving measures and were able to resuscitate the child.