Ten minutes wasn't long enough for Courtney Jayne to learn about Falls Park on Sunday.
This was the west-central Iowan's first time at the popular Sioux Falls landmark her first time in South Dakota, for that matter.
She didn't know that phosphorus in the water and the agitation of the falls can combine to build up an enormous pile of foam in the Big Sioux River.
She didn't know that two people had drowned at Falls Park five years ago on a day much like Sunday, in nearly the same spot where she and her family and friends were walking, including 5-year-old daughter, Maggie Zaiger.
The young mother also didn't know that Maggie thinking of safe, solid snow, perhaps would suddenly decide to lean over and try to touch the pile of foam.
By the time Courtney Jayne had all those facts at her disposal, her daughter was gone.
WS AdminAdministrator