WESTERLO — A 15-year-old girl drowned Monday night when her canoe capsized in the storm-swollen Basic Creek.

Caitlin J. Henry was canoeing with her brother, Patrick T. Henry, 14, who swam to shore. Their canoe capsized within seconds after they set foot in it, said Chief Deputy Craig Apple of the Albany County Sheriff’s Department.
He called the drowning "a tragedy."
The Henrys’ home, which is about 100 yards from the creek, had not flooded, said Apple. "They were experimenting in the rapid waters," he said, adding that the creek "is normally 75-percent smaller than it was Monday."

Route 404 over Basic Creek in Westerlo was among a dozen roads closed Monday in Albany County due to flooding caused by the weekend storm.

Caitlin Henry, a student at Grapeville Christian School in Greene County, was swept away by a strong current while her brother was able to swim to shore, the department says; neither was wearing a life vest.

Following a call to the sheriff’s department at 6:23 p.m., a multi-jurisdiction team — made up of volunteers from Hilltown emergency squads, fire departments, and search-and-rescue teams as well as deputies from the Albany County Sheriff’s Department — responded to the area and searched the creek.

A relative and a volunteer firefighter from Westerlo found Caitlin Henry a quarter of a mile downstream within 20 minutes of the canoe capsizing, said Apple. It then took 20 minutes to bring her to shore; the time was needed to ensure the safety of the rescuers, said Apple. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was unsuccessful, he said.
When asked about the amount of time it normally takes to discover victims of drowning, Apple said, "Except for the loss of life, we got very lucky." Searches for missing persons in water, he said, can last days and hours. Bodies, he said, can become trapped underwater and in culverts. "Unfortunately, we couldn’t save her," he said.

Caitlin Henry was transported to Albany Medical Center Hospital by the Westerlo Rescue Squad, Apple said. She was pronounced dead just after 10 p.m. An autopsy was performed Tuesday.