A 10-year-old boy drowned June 12, 2021, while saving his 5-year-old sister from the same fate in the Big Sioux River near Hudson, South Dakota. Ricky Lee Sneve of Hudson dove into the water after Chevelle Sneve stepped or fell into water that was 3 feet deep. He pushed Chevelle back toward the bank where she could exit the water to safety, but, in doing so, Ricky entered an area of the river where an undertow flowed into water 12 feet deep. Three boys and Ricky’s stepfather entered the water to help Ricky, but two of the boys immediately struggled in the water and the stepfather and the oldest boy helped them back to the bank. By then Ricky had been carried about 50 feet from the bank, and he submerged. Sheriff’s department divers recovered Ricky’s body about 75 feet down river from the point where he was last seen, in about 12 feet of water. He had drowned.
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