A large tree fell as Girl Scouts and volunteers were hiking nearby at a southern Indiana camp on a rainy Monday morning, striking and killing one girl and injuring three other people, authorities said.
Isabelle Meyer, an 11-year-old Girl Scout from Jasper, Indiana, died after the tree struck her and the three others at Camp Koch in Indiana’s Perry County near the Ohio River, Perry County Sheriff Alan Malone said.
The four were attending a Girl Scouts camp, and had been hiking with others along a gravel path when the tree — roughly 35 to 45 feet tall — fell around 11:30 a.m., Malone said.
It was raining at the time, but no warning from the National Weather Service was in effect, Perry County Emergency Management Agency Director Steve Hauser said.
Significant rain had also fallen in the past two weeks, Malone said. But he said he didn’t immediately know why the tree fell.
“It looked to … me that when the tree fell, it uprooted,” Malone said.
Meyer had been taken to two hospitals with injuries to her head and abdomen before she died, Malone said.
The three other people were also taken to a hospital, Malone said. They were:
• A 50-year-old woman with head, neck and chest injuries.
• A 55-year-old woman with a pelvic injury.
• A 10-year-old girl with a hand injury.
The injured girl was released from a hospital Monday. The names of the three injured, and details about the conditions of the two injured women, weren’t immediately available.
Camp Koch is a 500-acre camp facility operated by the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana.
The organization is “deeply saddened to learn of the terrible incident involving a fallen tree that took place at our Camp Koch property,” Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana spokeswoman Sydney Hoffman said.
“As the entire Girl Scout family mourns the loss of one of our girls, counselors are available to campers, members, leaders, volunteers, or others affected by this incident,” Hoffman said.
“There is nothing we take more seriously than the safety and well-being of our girls and volunteers. We wish to thank staff members on scene and first responders for their prompt efforts to render aid. Camp Koch will remain closed while camp officials and law enforcement investigate the incident.”
