Bishop - Children, police lauded for heroic actions during canal tragedy

What started out as a fun day at the Bishop Park Pool turned tragic Aug. 12 when Bishop resident Mark Strout lost control of his vehicle, sending himself and four youngsters into the Bishop Canal near East Line Street in Bishop
Strout’s 1996 Ford Explorer sank quickly in the cold water, but, at the prompting of Strout, all four youngsters, working together, made it to shore.
Strout himself was unable to free himself from the vehicle and was submerged for several minutes before Bishop Police Sergeant Glenn McClinton and Officer Bryan Rossy were able to extract him from the vehicle.
Strout was flown to Renown Medical Center in Reno where he later succumbed to his injuries.
But if it wasn’t for Strout’s quick thinking and the kids’ ability to look after one another, the tragic events of that summer afternoon could have turned out much worse.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Strout was driving north on the canal road, less than a quarter mile north of East Line Street with Taylor Brown, 12, Baily Cruz, 11, McKenzie Brown, 10, and Jordyn Brown, 3, all of Bishop.
Strout lost control of his vehicle and it landed in the canal on the driver’s side – quickly taking on water.
As soon as the vehicle hit the water, Strout sprang into action, directing the kids to save themselves.
“He told us to hurry up and get out and said that he would get himself out,” said Cruz in an emotional interview Friday.
Cruz and McKenzie were able to climb out through the open passenger side window while Taylor Brown removed Jordyn from her car seat that was in the driver’s side back seat.

Friends and family of Mark Strout constructed this memorial on the Bishop Canal where he perished after helping to save the lives of four kids in his vehicle as it sunk in the canal last month. Photo by Mike Bodine

“When I was getting Jordyn out, my seat belt was stuck,” Taylor said. “I was completely equal with the right side of the car, so I had to keep my head to the right to keep it out of the water. Mark reached back and held the seat belt up so I could unclip it, and that’s how I could get to Jordyn.”
Taylor handed Jordyn to Cruz and McKenzie.
“Taylor unbuckled Jordyn and handed her to me, then me and Bailey got to the shore,” McKenzie said. Taylor followed shortly after.
The truck was completely submerged within moments of hitting the water, with less than two feet of the passenger’s side of the truck out of the water, and Strout stuck in his seat.
An unidentified witness who was reading in her car nearby said she heard the splash, saw the kids dashing out of the water and called 911.
“When we got out, got to shore, we started freaking out,” Taylor said.
McKenzie added that the unidentified witness allowed the kids to use her phone to call their mother, Karina Brown, from the scene.
Bishop Police Department received the call at 2:04 p.m. and BPD Sergeant McClinton and Officer Rossy were at the scene by 2:05.
As soon as McClinton and Rossy arrived on scene, “they took off all their gear and hopped in the water and got Mark out of the car,” McKenzie said.
The two dashed into the water to pull the now unconscious Strout from the vehicle through the passenger door and began CPR.
Inyo County Sheriff’s deputies, a District Attorney’s investigator and an Inyo Narcotics Enforcement Team officer arrived on scene shortly thereafter to assist with the extrication of Strout.
After freeing the unconscious man from the vehicle, officers performed CPR on Strout until EMTs from Symon’s Ambulance Service arrived and took over at 2:08 p.m.
After pulling Strout from the vehicle, “McClinton huddled us all together and told us to pray for Mark,” McKenzie said.
Taylor, McKenzie, Bailey, McClinton and Rossy each deserve praise for their brave actions last month, but they will not forget the ordeal they went through or the life that was lost that day.
“I’m just grateful that they’re all OK and that Mark told them to get themselves out,” said Taylor and McKenzie’s mother, Karina Brown. “I want to thank law enforcement for their quick response and doing what they could to save Mark.”
“I’m very proud of all of them,” Hannah Cruz, Baily’s mother said. “They handled everything very well for their age and I’m just grateful to the police department and the first responders and everyone who got there so quickly.”
“I think that the kids being able to keep their composure is a miracle in itself,” McClinton said. “The true heros in this whole thing are the kids.”
A memorial for Strout has been erected at the Bishop canal north of East Line Street.