After KCRA producer’s rope swing death, family pushes for safety measures

This story originally appeared on KCRA.

Three years ago this summer, the Hoedt Family endured an unimaginable loss. Kathryn Hoedt, 23, “Katie,” as she was called by all who knew and loved her, died on August 12, 2023, after falling from a rope swing attached to a tree branch at Folsom Lake.

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The young woman’s parents were left learning to live without a child. Her brother and sister were left finding a way forward, even though their sibling is gone. Katie’s friends and work family at KCRA 3 were sent reeling after hearing that the life of their rising star morning newscast producer was cut short.

“We’ll never get over it,” said Katie’s mom, Beth Hoedt. “I don’t want anybody else to go through that.”

“This lake is so peaceful and beautiful, and she loved water,” said Beth as she looked across the expanse of Folsom Lake. “I come here, and I just feel at peace. I feel her. I mean, I think she’s here.”

Katie’s family gets through each day, remaining focused on all she reached for and achieved. That includes the mark she made as a motivated local television news producer, with dreams of working at the network level someday.

“She knew what she wanted to do and she went for it,” said Katie’s dad, Andy Hoedt. “She was on a trajectory, an amazing trajectory, from a young age.”

That is, until the day it was all cut short.

‘The last thing you want to do is to have to meet a family in that way’

In the years since Katie’s death, California State Parks says it’s taken steps via enhanced signage to inform Folsom Lake visitors about what’s prohibited and about the rocks and boulders, tree branches and trunks, hidden just beneath the water’s surface.

“It is illegal to jump and dive into the water out here because of those reasons,” said Bary Smith, chief ranger for the Gold Field District of California State Parks. “What seemed safe last week or yesterday is not safe today.”

Hazards in the water can become even more dangerous as water levels fluctuate, making educational outreach about their presence vital.

“We’ve actually just increased that messaging,” Smith said. “Doing a better job of letting people know diving also includes rope swings and cliff jumping.”

As rangers point out, safety laws don’t work if people don’t know about them.

“Katie was such a compliant person. She never broke the law,” Beth said. “If she had seen signs like these and been educated about rope jumping, she would’ve never done it.”

The Hoedt Family turned grief into action in the weeks immediately following Katie’s death. And they’ve held steadfast to that mission ever since.

“What [Katie’s] parents have done to honor her and to prevent any other families from going through this is really, really incredible,” said California Assemblymember Maggy Krell, D-Sacramento, who, along with other area lawmakers, has worked with the Hoedt Family as they try to create meaningful change.

“They’re gonna have to cut down a lot of rope swings. They may have to cut down branches. Educating people. Spreading awareness. Making sure that there’s signage,” Krell said. “I think we need all of those solutions to really prevent these tragedies in the future.”

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Advocacy work continues in Katie’s honor

Determination drives the Hoedts’ push to prevent another injury—another death.

“These signs are the first step,” Beth said. “But there are so many other things that can be done to help keep that education going.”

In addition to public education about dangerous activities along state waterways, the Hoedt Family is advocating for:

—The engineering of physical barriers at high-risk destinations.
—The development of the CA State Parks website interface that draws user attention to a homepage data dashboard containing safety information and accident, rescue and fatality information.
—Evaluation of data about ranger response to incidents—affording the allocation of resources at high-risk “hot spots.”
—Consistent enforcement of California code regulations.

And they believe that prominently showing fine and citation information on the state parks website—related to cliff jumping and rope swing violations—could also deter people from taking part in those potentially dangerous activities.

“Katie made an impact, a great impact, when she was alive,” Andy Hoedt said. “She can also make an impact when she’s not here with us anymore.”

Another idea the Hoedts have to further their daughter’s impact is to implement an exception in the state’s strict policy on hazard tree and branch removal.

As of right now, rangers need to abide by branch removal restrictions in place that require inspection by certified arborists before branches used for illegal rope swings can be cut down.

The Hoedts would like to see to it that rangers don’t have to jump through hoops to cut down branches that are used for illegal rope swings.

“Even though this tragedy happened, I know Katie wouldn’t look at it negatively,” said Beth.

Katie’s family chooses to lift up the positivity she brought to life. So they’ve vowed to continue working toward lasting change in the community. Change that will be part of her legacy.

“She wouldn’t want any of us to wallow in the sorrow of her loss,” Beth said. “She would just want us to celebrate her and do what we’re doing to help save others.”