Man, 41, recovered in Mississippi River after nearly two-day search; Young boy's rescue made possible by 911 call

by Jim Boyle

Editor

At about 9:40 a.m. on Sunday, July 14, the Wright County Water Patrol located Cody Jay Pope, 41, in the Mississippi River near the Oliver Kelley Farm after nearly a two-day search for him.

Pope’s parents were notified of his recovery today. The tragic loss of the man’s life could have been compounded if not for the quick thinking of Ragen McKernan, a 17-year-old Elk River High School senior who had eyes on the initial scene and called 911 immediately.

She and her childhood friend, Riley Deitrich, 16, witnessed Pope and two young children frolicking in the water on the edge of a sandbar across from the dock at Rivers Edge Common Park before talking about leaving to go to the Elk River Starbucks. They decided to wait until noon when the coffee shop would start its noontime special.

That decision proved to be profound as the family went from frolicking to fighting to stay afloat at about 11:43 a.m. for two of the three individuals as a girl about 10 or 11 years old watched from the sandbar.

Pope had tried to save the boy from trouble, but in the struggle to hold the boy up and get him to safety the waters swept him away to his death. That left the boy stranded in the water, but with the help of the 911 call he was able to be rescued.

McKernan and Deitrich, who have been mourning the loss of two of their peers and praying for a third to recover from serious injuries in a Minneapolis hospital bed, watched the beginnings of tragedy strike the Elk River community again.

Between McKernan’s decision to call 911 at the first sign of distress and local police and fire officials’ ability to get into position so the boy could be pulled to safety by the Parrish Avenue Bridge, one tragedy was averted in the face of the other tragedy involving Pope.

The two say they wish they could give the little boy and girl a hug. They find some comfort knowing they helped the boy survive but their hearts break for the families touched by the tragedy. The two teens say there’s no way it was a coincidence they found themselves there on the dock to witness what happened. “I feel like we were meant to be there,” Deitrich said. “And I’m just glad to know that the dad was really trying to save the kids. That makes me feel just a little bit better, but it doesn’t feel good that he’s no longer here.”

McKernan and Deitrich, friends since the fourth grade, visited the Big Lake crash site where two 17-year-old boys perished on July 6 after a violent automobile crash. The pair of Elk River High School seniors have been stopping by the dock at Rivers Edge Commons Park in downtown Elk River all of last week for some time to themselves to process the personal losses of life that have interrupted their world. They decided to do it again on the morning of Friday, July 12.

After visiting the crash site and upon their arrival to the dock at the base of the downtown park, McKernan and Deitrich watched as a man and two children moved about in the river at the edges of a sandbar across the way from them. The group had apparently stopped for some fun in the water on the hot July day after pulling up in a motorized boat. McKernan estimates her and her friend watched the trio in the water for about 20 minutes. McKernan said it was cute and endearing.

“And then all of a sudden, the dad gets out of the water and the little kids are still just playing around, running around... being kids knee deep (in water) and not submerged,” she said. “And so we are just sitting on the dock, and we both look out (again) and then we see the dad run back into the water.”

They watched as the adult helped the little girl get back to the sandbar, and then he headed back for the little boy who had a life jacket of some type on but had drifted further away.

Deitrich said the little girl did not have a life preserver, so that’s why she thinks that the man scuttled her to safety first. Then he jumped back into the water to grab the little boy.

“And then all of a sudden I just see one head bobbing, and I’m thinking do I call the cops? And by the time I got that sentence out, I already dialed it... I don’t even remember dialing it.”

McKernan is the daughter of Darren McKernan, a veteran of the Elk River Police Department, who is serving as the acting chief of police and a likely candidate to become the permanent chief. She said the importance of dialing 911 has been ingrained into her.

“I have always known that as soon as you see something, call,” McKernan said. “And that’s just stuck in my mind for 17 years.”

McKernan and Deitrich continued to watch as McKernan spoke to a 911 dispatcher who informed her that police and fire units were on their way.

“As I was on the phone with 9-1-1, I saw the dad’s head go up, and then I saw it go down and I didn’t see him reappear,” McKernan said. “So all we are doing now is watching a little boy struggling. He was going up and down like a bobber. He was crying. The little girl was screaming.”

Elk River Police and Fire arrived, fanning out between the park and the Parrish Avenue Bridge. By then, authorities had been told there were two people in the water that were struggling.

“We could only see one person at that time,” said Elk River Fire Chief Mark Dickinson, who had gone to the dock at the riverfront park. “He was struggling bad.”

McKernan said the little boy initially had been trying to fight the current, trying to swim back to his sister, but that wasn’t going to work. Between the cops, Dickinson and the teenage girls they encouraged him to swim toward the dock.

“I’m yelling, come on, buddy. swim. Use your legs. Swim towards me. Swim towards the dock. You got it. Try to keep your head above water,” Ragen said. “I was just trying to coach him and, like, help him to make sure that his head doesn’t go all the way under and he doesn’t pop up.”

McKernan and Dietrich say they both jump into action-type people if something happens on the road or somewhere else. “When it comes to the river, all we could do is sit and watch,” McKernan said.

The boy never never made it close to the dock, but Joe Libor, Jr. the assistant fire chief for Elk River had positioned himself on the nearby bridge with a rope. Below him Elk River Police were stationed underneath the bridge along the shore. Thankfully, the boy was able to hear the commands, grab the rope and hang on as Libor pulled against the current.

“Joe was able to drag him to the shore,” Dickinson said. “He did a fantastic job. You wouldn’t think it would take that much to pull a young kid, but with the current moving as fast as it was (Joe) said it felt like he was pulling a several hundred pound man.”

Dickinson also praised the 911 caller and Sherburne County dispatch as well as Elk River Police and Fire.

“By calling right away, that made the difference between life and death,” he said. “Joey wouldn’t have been in position to be able to save that kid. We would have been looking at two victims instead of one.”

Dickinson said he was able to see Pope resurface at one point while on scene, but only to go under again. By then a full on search had been initiated. A joint command was set up down at the Babcock Park where there is a boat launch and they devised a plan. They had hope of finding the man alive.

“I think we had seven boats in the water between all the different jurisdictions,” Dickinson said. “We had drones. We had a State Patrol helicopter, but he never resurfaced. We searched as long as we could, knowing that it was gonna eventually become a recovery effort.”

Because the search was done on the Mississippi River, Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office took over command. They are in charge of waterways in the county.

Other agencies to assist included the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota State Patrol. Wright County Sheriff’s Office, Alina EMS, the Minnesota DNR, the Big Lake Police Department, the City of Ramsey Fire Department, Anoka County Sheriff’s Office. the Dayton Fire Department and Anoka/Hennepin Fire.

“The rivers are tough,” Dickinson said. “Rivers are very dangerous. People don’t realize. It looks like friendly water, but people underestimate the power of the current. And what people don’t always take into consideration is the undercurrent that is full of debris, branches and big trees and stuff. It’s a whole different animal.”