5-year-old dies trying to touch waterfall foam: cops
SIOUS FALLS, S.D. — Sioux Falls police say a 5-year-old Iowa girl who drowned in a river in a Sioux Falls park had reached out to touch the foam near some waterfalls when she slipped into the water.
Police spokesman Sam Clemens said Monday Maggie Jo Zaiger, of Audubon, Iowa, fell into the Big Sioux River in Falls Park near a pedestrian bridge Sunday, a spot not far from where two others drowned in 2013.
Sioux Falls parks and recreation director Don Kearney says after the 2013 deaths, the city upgraded its caution signs to warn adults to keep close watch on young children, among other things. Kearney says the foam is a naturally occurring phenomenon created by phosphorus and the agitated water.
He says the city considered installing barricades near the falls, but felt that would create a false sense of security.