An 11-year-old girl scout has been killed after a tree fell in a freak accident at an Indiana campground. Isabelle Meyer of Jasper, Indiana, died on Monday after suffering horrific head and torso injuries at Camp Koch, near Cannelton.
“How that tree fell at that time, it’s just a freak of nature,” Perry County Sheriff Alan Malone told People. The incident is thought to have occurred
at around 11:30 a.m., as Meyer, another young girl, and two women in their 50s headed to the mess hall.
“They were behind everyone else and the rest of the girls were ahead of them,” Malone added. “It was raining so hard…the ground is very wet.”
Out of nowhere, a 45-foot tall tree, measuring about 3 feet wide, came crashing down, pinning all three people underneath its vast trunk and branches. The other child and two women managed to escape but have been treated for injuries. Meyer, unfortunately, did not survive her injuries.
As for the cause of the tree to fall, the sheriff said, “we’ll never know.”
Camp Koch, which has been running since 1942, has been temporarily closed down while an investigation gets underway.
“There is nothing we take more seriously than the safety and well-being of our girls and volunteers,” said Sydney Hoffman, communications coordinator for Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana. “Right now we are in mourning, and we are coming together to care for our Girl Scout family.”
A mass of Christian Burial is set to be held Monday, 10:00 a.m. at Precious Blood Catholic Church in Jasper, Indiana.
If you wish to donate to funeral costs, you can head to the family’s GoFundMe page here. So far, over $12,000 has been raised, with messages of prayer and condolence pouring in.
“Prayers of healing for the family,” one person commented. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to her grandparents, parents, siblings, classmates, friends and fellow Girl Scouts,” another added.
“Our prayers from our families to yours..”
Do keep the family in your prayers at this devastating time.