Casandra Joann Kendrick

Casandra Joann Kendrick died helping to save a boy from drowning, Seguin, Texas, June 13, 2021. JaeVictor Villanueva, 9, was fishing and wading with his father, 30, and younger brothers, Elijah, 6, and Jaevyen, 5, in shallow water surrounding a small island in the Seguin River when JaeVictor, who is autistic and nonverbal, stepped into water about 15 feet deep near an undertow. Villanueva’s father entered the water after him as Kendrick, 22, and her cousin swam toward Elijah and Jaevyen, who had followed him into the water. The cousin used a floating toy to bring one boy to shallow water while Kendrick grasped the other boy in deeper water then handed him off to the same cousin, before submerging. Meanwhile, JaeVictor’s father had passed him to Kendrick’s aunt, who brought that boy to safety as the father submerged. It could not be established which of JaeVictor’s younger brothers was grasped by Kendrick, whose body was recovered later that evening. She had drowned. The father’s body was found the next day; he also had drowned.