GLYNDON, Minn. - As details emerge about the June drowning of a girl at Buffalo River State Park, an administrator at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said the agency is not able to discuss the case because of a pending claim against the state.

Philip Leversedge, deputy director of the DNR's Division of Parks and Trails, did say, however, that a review is being done of procedures at the park's swimming pond prior to the 2019 season.

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Nine-year-old Grace Bettie of Moorhead drowned in the pond June 27.

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The Clay County Sheriff's Office released a 60-page report Oct. 1 indicating no criminal charges would be filed in connection with her death. The release came as a result of a public records request by The Forum.

An attorney, William Lubov of Golden Valley, Minn., told The Forum several weeks ago that he intended to pursue a civil case on behalf of the family. However, he did not return phone calls seeking comment about the recent Clay County report.

Grace Bettie went to the park near Glyndon that day as part of the Moorhead Police Department's Summer Youth Program.

The program had 178 children and 37 adult mentors at the park, according to the report. Three lifeguards were on duty, and at least three other park employees were on hand when the drowning occurred, it said.

Conflicting information

Some information given by witnesses in the report is conflicting, including that provided by the girl who reported Bettie missing and that from a lifeguard.

With her parents present, the now 11-year-old girl told detectives she notified a chaperone and lifeguard immediately that her friend went under water and she didn't see her come back up.

She said the lifeguard kept asking questions about her friend's physical description, and that the questions "took a long time" before the lifeguard called for Bettie over a loudspeaker.

Several witnesses described the child who reported Bettie missing as appearing shaken and scared about the possibility her friend was still in the water.

In an interview with detectives, the lifeguard in question said the chaperone was "completely calm" and didn't give any indication she felt the girl was still in the water or in any state of distress.

A timeline was pieced together by detectives based on surveillance video and time-stamped photos from others at the swimming area.

After the girl reported her concerns, the timeline indicates the swimming area was cleared of swimmers at 3:54 p.m.; a lifeguard used a megaphone to call for Grace Bettie at 3:58; and lifeguards entered the water to search for her four minutes later, at 4:02.

The girl's body was pulled from the water at 4:04 by another lifeguard who was working her first day at the Buffalo River park pond, according to the report.

The lifeguard said she wasn't accustomed to the cloudy water conditions, having worked in clear swimming pools before. The pond water drawn from the Buffalo River for the swimming area is filtered and chlorinated for sanitation; however, it remains murky.

Lifesaving efforts were performed by lifeguards, law enforcement, and then ambulance personnel for about 40 minutes, until the girl was pronounced dead at 4:45 p.m.

Otter Tail County report

The decision not to file criminal charges was made by the Otter Tail County Attorney's Office, which was asked to review the case due to a potential conflict of interest in Clay County.

A staff member in the Clay County Attorney's Office volunteered at the youth program event that day, and other staff believed it could be a conflict for the office to review the investigation report, authorities said.

In declining criminal charges, the Otter Tail County memo stated that while some witnesses said there wasn't enough supervision that day, other witnesses said there was.

Clay County detectives had interviewed park naturalist Paula Comeau, who said the scene around the swimming area was "chaotic at best, most of the day" and that the mentors or chaperones should have offered more supervision.

The memo stated that based on circumstances, prosecutors do "not believe criminal charges are warranted," nor is there an "identifiable individual that could be held responsible via criminal charges."