Ozark County dispatcher honored for life-saving efforts of a girl in a flooded culvert

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - A young girl remains in critical condition after getting trapped in a culvert at a popular swimming hole in Douglas County.

This week, two of the people who worked to rescue her were recognized for their efforts that day, and for one of them, it’s not the first time she’s been honored.

Dispatchers are used to being the first voice someone hears when they call. However, accustomed as she was, for one dispatcher, a trip with her boyfriend would put her in a position to offer help but also risk her own life in the process.

Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin read from a part of the award that was handed to Branetta McNece, saying in part, “Swift action on June 19, when you risked your own life to save another, your bravery and shining example of what it means to be a hero. Your actions reflect the highest ideals, compassion, and humanity.”

McNece had just arrived at a swimming hole in Douglas County before her shift at the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office on June 19, when she heard screams and a woman running towards her and her boyfriend, Tanner Marriott.

“Tanner and I on my first day back were supposed to be on Thursday, I went to go drop him off so he could go swimming with his friends,” says Branetta McNece, a dispatcher with the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office. “The first woman started running up to our car screaming for help,” says McNece.

The following minutes would change their lives.

“She was telling us to call 911. And as soon as I heard 911, I shook my head, started paying attention to what was going on. Because we had heard screams, but we thought it was just playful, because there were a lot of kids down there,” says McNece.

The seriousness of the situation soon became apparent.

“We asked her what was wrong, and as we are walking to her, she tells us a child is stuck under the bridge in the culvert,” says McNece.

The two jumped into the water and started to work.

“He had found some twigs and stuff but couldn’t find her,” says Tanner Marriott, the boyfriend of McNece.

Watching people put their lives in danger as a community worked together.

“The same girl in the red swimsuit, she was almost stuck in the culver, she was pushing away from it, Tanner had to help pull her way before she got sweep away in the middle one,” says McNece.

A first responder arrived on the scene, and they would use ratchet straps to keep others from being swept away.

“Connected them to the culvert, where Scarlett was, and we draped them over the bridge, and Mathias went around, and held himself against the current with the rachet straps,” says McNece.

Shortly after, Douglas County Deputy Three Eagles arrived on the scene and brought a ladder, while another on the scene went and got a cooler. The hope was they could stop or slow the water enough to reach the young girl.

With Scarlett recovered from the culvert and on the shore receiving medical attention, McNece was in danger of becoming trapped as well.

“As he proceeded to start CPR, I am praying at her feet, I get three to five words out and I hear I hear Three Eagles Scream and everyone else screaming,” says Marriott.

At that time, Three Eagles tried to save McNece.

“I remember him not being able to grab my pants, I think he just instantly slipped off the bridge, when he came in the current brought him under my feet, brought my feet up, we were struggling to stay up, and he was holding us both up,” says McNece.

Three Eagles would be swept away from McNece, and those holding her arms were not able to keep her above water.

Not knowing the fate of the girl, or the deputy, and realizing her boyfriend was about to be pulled into the water, McNece made a decision.

“In my head, she was still down there, and the deputy was too. When I looked down it was just a clear circle, sun was shining through the culverts, I let go of his hand before I pulled him down with me, once I made it through the other side I just came face up, and I had to be carried out of the creek,” says McNece.

Marriott feared the girl had drowned.

“I was worried I drowned her, I thought I drowned her,” says Marriott.

For McNece and Marriott throughout the entire ordeal, time seemed to slow.

“It felt like three hours had gone by in a span of twenty to thirty minutes,” says McNece.

On the way to the hospital, her thoughts were with the young girl as she continued to ask the paramedic for updates.

“She was talking to me the whole time and told us they had gotten Scarlett a heartbeat, and put her on an air evac,” said McNece.

Now it is dealing with thoughts of what if, how, and why.

“I thought I was going to die, so I can’t imagine if she was conscious, at any point and time, how she must feel or felt in that moment,” says McNece.

And the guilt.

“Unfortunatly it was a little girl and that is what hurts us the most,” says McNece.

McNece says she has often wondered if she would be able to step up if needed.

“You always think about the what-ifs when you are traveling down the highway, you are going swimming with your own family, think about what if someone gets bitten by a snake. It never actually happens, though, for a decent amount of time. To me, nothing like this has ever happened at all. I always wished that I had. Still, I have the courage to do that, but at that point and time when they said a little girl under the bridge had, have a lot of cousins, I have taken care of my sister and brother, and had I did the same thing I would expect from somebody else. In other people’s eyes, it probably looked like I went out of my way. Still, I think it was just instinct, I feel like any kind of human, that was respectful and loving, they would probably jump in and do the same thing,” says McNece.

Sheriff Cass Martin says that the efforts of those who worked to save a life show the true character of those who jumped into action.

“Most people would freeze, and they wouldn’t know what to do, but these two jumped into action to save a little girl’s life. You don’t see that very often in the character of people; they were willing to throw themselves in harm’s way to make a difference. I am proud of my employee, of the person that she is, that makes me even more proud of the people I have working in the sheriff’s office,” said Sheriff Martin.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

“It was a matter of instinct for us,” says Marriott.

“They were the ones that carried me out of the creek, is what I was told; if anything were slightly off, it would have been a different story today,” says McNece.

The two worked together to help save a young girl who had become trapped in a culvert.

“The odds were stacked against them, today there are no lives lost,” says Sheriff Martin.

While trying to help, McNece got swept into the culvert herself.

“You don’t see that very often in the character of some of the people nowadays, they were willing to throw themselves in harm’s way to make a difference,” says Sheriff Martin.

The events of that day will haunt those who stepped up.

“There is a lot of hindsight, and you look back, I think everybody is going to feel better once Scarlett finally pulls through and makes a full recovery. I think that right now it is the what-ifs and should of, would of, could of,” says McNece.

For Sheriff Cass Martin, he is aware his dispatcher and her boyfriend are going to need support.

“It concerns me, cause I know she is handling it well now, but what about five-six months from now. What we need to do is get in contact with somebody who can come over here and go over the situation and help to understand what happened,” said Sheriff Martin.

McNece was also recognized for her work this past weekend for her professionalism and composure handling calls during the April tornadoes that hit the county.

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