Reprinted from the Athens Daily News, Monday June 30, 1997

Athens teen-ager drowns

By Rachel Bianco
Staff Writer

Friends and family members are mourning the loss of a 17-year-old Clarke Central High School senior who drowned Saturday evening at Watson Mill State Park in Madison County.

Amanda Dabney Holmes of 397 Boulevard died after she slid down some slippery rocks in the Broad River and caught her leg under a root.

Holmes and 20-25 fellow members of Clarke Central High School's marching band were attending an informal going-away party for a member of the band who was moving to Ohio.

Friends, family members and people attending a wedding that evening at the park tried to save the teen after she became trapped at 7:15 p.m. Madison County emergency personnel arrived about 7:50 p.m., witnesses said Sunday.

A statement Sunday from Madison County chief deputy Bill Strickland said only that the department "is investigating the death of a 17 year-old Athens girl.

"Witnesses and friends attempted to save the girl who was caught in some rocks and tree roots," the statement said. "The victim was transported to Elbert County Hospital where she later died."

Madison County Sheriff Clayton Lowe on Sunday described Holmes' death as an accidental drowning. He said unofficial coroner's reports put the time of death at 11 p.m. Saturday.

Lowe said he expects an official report on the death this morning.

Park ranger David Green said Sunday he was called out to the scene at 7:21 p.m. "She was not conscious by the time I got to her," Green said. "There were already four to five people there at her, and three were holding her."

Green said rescuers had to use a bow saw to free Holmes from the roots.

Lee Moon, manager of Watson Mill State Park, said Holmes was transported to Elbert County Hospital at 8:09 p.m. Moon said Green called him from the hospital about 11:30 p.m. to say Holmes had died.

"Nothing of this nature has ever happened as far as I've been told," Green said. "It was just a freak thing, in my opinion, just something horrible that happened."

Nancy Thompson, a friend and classmate of Holmes, said she, Holmes and another friend were walking along the edge of the river when Holmes slipped into a small pool of water. Once Holmes got wet, Thompson said Holmes decided to "body surf on down to where some of our friends were standing."

"She was probably the best swimmer we had in the whole group," Thompson said. "Last summer, she was a lifeguard at (the University of Georgia's) Legion Pool."

Holmes got trapped in a reclining position under a strong rush of water, and rescue attempts were treacherous, according to another classmate of Holmes, David Rich.

At first, Rich said he was told that Holmes was stuck in the water, and they needed his help.

"Then somebody yelled, 'Call 911!' and I broke out into a run," he said Sunday. "When I got there, I couldn't see her. I knew she was under the water."

Rich said he struggled across the current and brought Holmes' head above water. Then, he said he made three attempts to pull her leg out from under the root.

"Every time I tried to pull her leg, I'd go tumbling downstream," he said. "Then I'd run back up and do it again. The water was such an immense force pushing on everybody it was really the key thing It was so hard to work in that situation."

Moon said park personnel were keeping a close eye on people in the river Sunday, but that "we haven't made any changes in (park) operations at this time."

Clarke County School Superintendent Lucian Harris said Sunday he was saddened by the tragedy.

"My heart goes out to the family, and we'll do whatever we can to support them," he said. "I know she's going to be missed by the students and Clarke Central."

Jennifer Eusner, the Clarke Central band member who is moving away, said Holmes had just gotten a new job at Blockbuster Video on the Atlanta Highway and was "happier than we had ever seen her."

"She (Holmes) and Nancy (Thompson) had made a sign for me that said, 'I'll miss you,' because I'm moving to Ohio, but by the end of the day, it had a whole different meaning because she had passed away," Eusner said. "If I could say one thing I would thank the community for coming together. We didn't get to thank anybody. I saw people who were crying that didn't even know her because they had been working so hard for her."

Memorial services for Holmes will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church, 780 Timothy Road. The family will receive friends 7-9 p.m. today at Bernstein Funeral Home, 3195 Atlanta Highway.