Camden County Sheriff’s Office releases bodycam video surrounding response to toddler’s drowning

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Camden County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday night shared a more than 47-minute-long video surrounding the response to a call involving a toddler’s drowning.

Iszabella O'Bryan, 2, was found dead on March 3 in the water at the Lake of the Ozarks after she went missing. Previous reporting from the time of the drowning says she was found after an hour in the area of Irontown Road in Roach.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said she was found in Bollinger Creek Cove a short distance from her home, previous reporting says.

The girl’s parents -- Justin Haas and Katelee O'Bryan – filed a federal lawsuit last month against the Camden County Sheriff’s Office, juvenile office, Missouri Children’s Division and Department of Social Services.

The parents claimed in court documents that two Camden County detectives "aggressively interrogated" the couple with "hostile and manipulative" tactics "rather than coordinating rescue efforts.”

A summons was issued for the defendants on Sept. 30.

Court documents in previous reporting claimed law enforcement went outside the geographical boundaries allowed by its search warrant by searching more than one property; and that investigators "staged the scene...to manufacture a false impression of criminal endangerment.”

The department refuted the claims in the lawsuit with a press release of its own last week.

The edited video released by the sheriff’s office on Wednesday shows deputies speaking at a residence with the girl’s step dad at the beginning of the video before making their way to a camper to search for the girl. The stepfather allows the deputies into the camper.

The mother of the girl appears around the 25-minute mark of the video and begins answering questions by deputies a few moments later.

The parents and deputies go back to the residence around the 38-minute mark and deputies speak to the children.

Several portions of the video are muted by law enforcement.

“We believe openness is essential when our actions are called into question,” a statement from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office says. “The release of this footage will provide an accurate, first-hand account of how our deputies responded. We hope this transparency helps the community understand the professionalism and urgency shown throughout the search.”