Sheriff warns of Missouri River’s dangers after student drowning

A memorial service honoring the life of a University of South Dakota student who drowned a week before the school year began will be held soon.

Dean of Students Kim Grieve said she is coordinating the planning of a service honoring Brant Blaha, 19, with his friends and family, and said an official date for the gathering will be selected soon once they meet today.

“I really want students to be part of the planning (of the memorial service),” she said. “I think that’s important.”

Blaha, of Dante, S.D., drowned in the Missouri River on Aug. 16 at Burbank Beach during a swimming trip with friends. The Union County Sheriff’s Office said the group decided to cross the river, but Blaha didn’t join them on the other side of the river and was reported missing. His body was found Aug. 19 about 2½ miles from where he was reported missing.

Grieve said she has spoken to about 30 USD students about meeting to plan the service. She said the university’s Counseling Services and clergy from on- and off-campus will be available at the memorial service.

“We’re very interested in planning (the student memorial), but I certainly want students to plan and for me to just maybe facilitate getting space and food and things like that,” Grieve said. “The most important part to start the healing process is to provide that avenue for students to be able to talk and to be able to share memories and to do it in a safe space. It’s really important to have these services for students.”

A ‘smiley,’ ‘bubbly’ person

Blaha was a second year Honors Program student at USD working toward a degree in history education with a minor in archeology. He was also employed with Vermillion Hy-Vee.

Those who knew him described Blaha’s personality as “smiley and bubbly.”

Brent Olinger, a USD graduate student, was Blaha’s resident adviser last year in Beede Hall. Olinger said the first day his residents moved onto the floor, Blaha stood out.

“Brant was always a smiley, bubbly person,” Olinger said. “He always saw the best in people and tried to make it a focus to bring people together.”

Known among the second Beede floor residents as “Mamma Brent,” Olinger said Blaha coined the nickname at their first floor meeting. It’s been about a year since that meeting, but Olinger said he still occasionally hears “Mamma Brent” being called out when he walks around campus.

“He gave me that name and it’s a hard thing to hear (now),” Olinger said. “It shows just how much influence he had on the floor. Things live on because of him.”

Sophomore Hanna Leschisin lived on second Beede and especially remembers how caring Blaha was.

“He was everyone’s friend. There was literally not a person in this world he didn’t love,” she said.

Sophomore Nicole Clemen, another floormate from last year, agreed with Leschisin.

“He always did nice things and didn’t expect anything in return,” Clemen said. “He went above and beyond what anyone else would ever do.”

River safety

Blaha’s trip to the Missouri River with friends was supposed to be an outing filled with fun and adventure. That’s why Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges is hoping others who venture out to recreational areas to swim and enjoy the last bit of warm weather will be mindful of safety precautions.

“We don’t want another tragedy like this. So they need to think safety,” Limoges said. “It’s not a pond, it’s not a lake, it’s a river that’s flowing and creating undercurrent. It can be very dangerous.”

Limoges said that during the three-day search for Blaha, the average speed of the river’s current was 6 mph. At times the current was too dangerous for the dive team to safely perform their search, he said. Debris from the current also poses a dangerous threat.

“In the Missouri (River) you can’t see much. You can’t see your hand under the water,” Limoges said. “There are very shallow areas and then all of a sudden it can drop down to several feet.”

Leschisin was part of the group of about 12 people who went swimming that day. She said five people, including Blaha, decided to swim across the river and that’s when he was swept away by the current.

“A group of people decided that it would be an adventure to swim to the other side and (Blaha) was up for anything, so he jumped in,” she said. “Right before he jumped in he said something like, ‘This is where the river separates the boys from the men.’ ”

Leschisin said there was a lot of confusion in the minutes that followed once it was discovered Blaha didn’t return to the group. Like Limoges, she said the shallow depth of the river can be misleading.

“The current was a lot stronger than anyone could of anticipated, and walking out there you can get half way out there and it’s less than knee deep so it’s really misleading,” she said. “You think you’re safe and have all sense of security.”

Grieve said the university is researching ways to raise awareness about river safety, as some students may not have grown up around a river to learn about the dangers it poses.

“I’m looking at some different universities and what they have,” she said. “It’s a really good educational moment for sure.”

Limoges said the river can be a great place for students to gather and have fun, but to not forget about the surrounding environment.

“Do not take the river for granted, because it is not forgiving.”

[notification type=”grey” title=”River safety tips”]1. If you’re going to go on water, you should have a life vest on. 2. I don’t recommend anyone try and swim across the river with the conditions it has. 3. Never go alone. 4. There have been a lot of people down there. It wouldn’t hurt to have a throw device. 5. The biggest thing is too much alcohol can be really dangerous. – Dan Limoges, Union County sheriff[/notification]