00:00 It was kind of unbelievable.
00:04 I mean, it was really a roller coaster of emotions.
00:08 -That's Shelly Schmidt,
00:09 who lost her fiancé in July of 1990.
00:13 -It was the day before my wedding,
00:15 and I was home getting everything ready
00:17 for the rehearsal dinner.
00:19 -Schmidt tells me she wasn't sure where her fiancé,
00:21 Steve Ensley, was at the time,
00:23 just that he was with his cousin and his best man,
00:26 who had flown out from Michigan for the wedding.
00:28 -I thought they were gonna be late for the rehearsal dinner,
00:31 and then the sheriff came to the door
00:32 and said that he was lost in the river,
00:35 and it was horrible.
00:38 -Schmidt then went to the river with the search-and-rescue team,
00:40 who still hadn't recovered the body.
00:42 Ensley's mom was convinced they would find him unharmed.
00:46 -And right before dark, they recovered both of the bodies,
00:49 and it was horrible.
00:51 It was just horrible.
00:52 -Ensley and his cousin slid in the river from a rock
00:55 when they were about five miles up the Kern River
00:57 Canyon off the 178.
00:59 The best man was also there,
01:00 and when he didn't see them emerge after going in,
01:02 ran to the nearest call box to phone for help.
01:05 -So, we went from planning for the wedding
01:07 to planning a funeral,
01:09 and, you know, they say everything happens for a reason,
01:12 but I was glad his parents were here
01:15 and everybody was here for the wedding,
01:17 so I didn't have to call somebody and tell them.
01:19 -Since then, Schmidt has had three children
01:22 and always cautioned them to stay out of the river.
01:24 This year, with high water flows,
01:26 KCSO had to utilize search and rescue
01:28 to recover multiple bodies from the Kern,
01:31 most recently on Sunday, July 16th.
01:34 -I've completed four recovered missing subjects,
01:37 and there are three outstanding subjects.
01:40 Out of canals and other waterways,
01:42 though, we have recovered seven subjects.
01:45 -We've already had 15 instances in 2023
01:49 in which the Kern County Fire Department helicopter
01:52 had to be involved in these type of rescues,
01:55 so that kind of paints a picture of how active we are this year.
01:58 -I mean, they were both strong.
01:59 They were 25 years old and, you know, good swimmers,
02:02 and you're not stronger than the water.
02:05 -Schmidt says the grief has grown less strong over time.
02:08 She keeps a scrapbook with wedding invitations,
02:11 news articles about the accident,
02:13 Ensley's death certificate, and cards from the funeral.
02:16 Every time she sees someone drown in the river,
02:19 she says it reminds her of that day.
02:21 -That's the thing, is every time --
02:22 I just want to cry every time I see another story
02:25 because I know how that family's feeling.
02:28 -What happened is hard to relive for Schmidt,
02:30 who has declined to do interviews
02:31 with media outlets in the past,
02:33 but her mind was changed when her daughter made this point.
02:37 -And she said, "Maybe if you shared your story,
02:41 you could save a life,"
02:43 so that's really why I wanted to talk.
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