23-year-old woman dies after falling 30 feet from a rope swing along Folsom Lake shore

A 23-year-old woman died following an incident Saturday involving a rope swing on the shore of Folsom Lake in Placer County.

The woman was identified as Kathryn Hoedt, according to California State Parks officials. She fell approximately 30 feet from the rope swing onto a shoreline just north of Rattlesnake Bar, a parks spokesperson said.

Hoedt, known by her friends and colleagues as Katie, worked as a morning newscast producer for KCRA.

“Our team is heartbroken about the loss of Katie Hoedt,” said Derek Schnell, Channel 3’s news director. “She had a vibrant personality, she lit up the newsroom with her enthusiasm and her laughter was contagious. She was also proud to be a journalist and she was deeply committed to serving our community. Katie had a bright future ahead of her and she’ll be deeply missed.”

The station wrote on its website: “Her coworkers universally said she was one of the nicest people they ever worked with.”

After her fall, Hoedt was transported by friends to a nearby boat ramp where an off-duty doctor performed CPR. State rangers arrived at the scene and she was transported by the Placer County Fire Department to Sutter Roseville Medical Center where she died.

Authorities say rope swings are not permitted at Folsom Lake or downstream at Lake Natoma.

“This is something we don’t allow here at state parks, and we do make an effort to cut down the rope swings that we see because of situations like this,” said Mike Howard, superintendent for the agency’s Folsom sector.

Howard said rope swings in the capital region’s waterways are unsafe because the integrity of the ropes and trees they’re often tied to can be difficult to gauge.

“They really just shouldn’t be trusted,” Howard said.

Another safety issue for rope swings has been the lake’s changing water levels. Howard noted the lake, which saw historic water levels following a record wet winter, has fallen roughly 15 feet since May, exposing more shoreline and increasing the distance one could fall off a rope swing before reaching the surface.

“A rope swing may be safer earlier in the season,” he said. “And then as the season progresses, they get much more dangerous. In this incident, I think she was just trying to have a good time, do something exciting, and obviously the result was catastrophic. It’s not worth it. ... Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.”