Man saves 8 year-old girl from drowning in river

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK) — On Saturday, June 11th, Jimmy Camp was by the Kern River in Kernville at Frandy campground. After fly fishing, he decided to relax. That's when it happened.

An 8-year-old's tube flipped over knocking her upside down.

"I just kind of threw my phone on the riverbank and I was right directly parallel to her so I just dove in and kind of fought the current to get over there and I could still see she hadn't come up," Camp, said. "She was probably under for 15 seconds or so."

He says the girl had swallowed a lot of water and was scared. He grabbed her and the current pushed them down the river. Camp says they went down several hundred yards.

"Just very fortunate that her family happened to be right there," Camp, said. "They had gotten out of the river at that point. I was able to give her back to her family."

The Kern County Sheriff's Office says 317 have died in the Kern River since 1968. 39 died from 2016 to 2021, including three minors. In 2021 two people died.

Camp says the little girl was wearing a life vest, but the life vest was not tight and ended up around her head.

"If you have a personal flotation device that's great, but if it's not designed for us, it's not the appropriate size or we're wearing it incorrectly, it may be of no use to us," Andrew Freeborn, Public Information Officer, Kern County Fire Department, said.

Freeborn says don't drink if you are going to be around the Kern River.

"Don't do things impaired," Freeborn, said. "Situations can quickly turn life and death and we want you to be able to think clearly, if something like that were to happen."

He also recommends having a guide with you if you are planning on getting in the Kern River.