Deputy rescues child, 2, and grandmother from ACID canal

October 9, 2020 Trevor Montgomery

ANDERSON, Calif. — Authorities say the frantic search for a “non-verbal” 2-year-old boy in Anderson ended when a responding deputy heard faint cries coming from the Anderson Cottonwood Irrigation Canal, Thursday, October 8. Racing to the area, the deputy found the missing boy and his grandmother in the canal.

“(The grandmother) was clinging to the steep side of the canal with one hand and holding the lost juvenile slightly out of the water with her other,” according to Shasta County Sheriff’s Sgt. Garet Baldwin.

The quick thinking deputy immediately pulled the young boy from the swift-moving currents of the canal and immediately began life saving efforts on him, Baldwin described; saying that other deputies who arrived moments later managed to pull the exhausted grandmother from the water.

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Deputies were first alerted to the crisis around noon when Christy Doss called 911 to report that her 2-year-old grandson was missing from her residence on the 18000 block of Darlenes Way.

Doss told SHASCOM emergency dispatchers that the 2-year-old “non-verbal” boy was last seen in their “mostly fenced yard” with other family members approximately five minutes prior to her desperate call for help to the Sheriff’s Office.

While deputies, along with a California Highway Patrol Aircraft were responding to the area, Doss reported that multiple family members were already in the process of searching the area, including the nearby ACID irrigation canal; and that she was going to join the search.

According to Baldwin, the canal has a very strong current, and features numerous small ponds and residential pools in the area where the boy had gone missing.

“The first deputy on scene began checking the area near the irrigation canal on his way to Doss’ residence and heard faint yelling coming from the canal,” said Baldwin.

“The deputy ran to the source of the yelling and located Doss in the water, clinging to the steep side of the canal with one hand and holding the lost juvenile slightly out of the water with her other,” Baldwin described.

The deputy, whose name has not been released, immediately pulled the soaking wet toddler out of the frigid water and began life saving efforts on him. Moments later, several other deputies arrived and quickly pulled the grandmother from the water.

“Both the juvenile and Doss were extremely cold from being in the water, but the juvenile continued breathing throughout the incident,” said Baldwin.

Medical and Fire personnel arrived on scene a short time later and transported the juvenile to
Mercy Medical Center for evaluation and treatment.

“At last word, the juvenile was in stable condition and recovering at the hospital,” said Baldwin.

Cold, wet and exhausted from her ordeal, paramedics treated Doss at the scene for minor injuries and she did not require hospitalization or further treatment.

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Baldwin later used the opportunity to remind area residents that “according to the CDC, among children ages 1 to 14, fatal drowning remains the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in the United States”; and cautioned parents and others to “be especially cautious caring for young children around bodies of water.”

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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.