Grandmother, 2 grandchildren drown on farm near Ringgold

photo Site of fatal accident near Ringgold, Ga.

RINGGOLD, Ga. - "Please keep this family in your prayers."

Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk asked that Monday after a grandmother and her two grandchildren drowned when she drove a utility vehicle into a pond on their gentleman's farm outside Ringgold.

Sisk identified the victims as Renee Monroe, 60, her granddaughter Reagan Cohen, 3, and grandson Jaxson Cohen, 18 months.

"The investigation is ongoing; however, all indications are that it is an accident," Sisk said in a news release.

The accident took place at "Our Maker's Acre."

That's the name on the gate leading to the 100-acre farm and 8,600-square-foot home at 316 London Lane that's owned by Charles and Renee Monroe.

Charles Monroe is the president of Card-Monroe Corp., a Hixson company that bills itself as the world's leading manufacturer of custom-built tufting equipment for the carpeting industry.

Relatives began worrying after the grandmother and grandchildren drove off and didn't return.

"The family started wondering where they were," Sisk said.

Family members found the trio inside the utility vehicle submerged on its side in a farm pond.

"It was like one of those John Deere Gators. It had doors on it," Sisk said. "It was on its side, and you could barely see [it in the water]."

The family called the Catoosa County 911 Center at 11:23 a.m., and said they had gotten the grandmother and two grandchildren out of the vehicle and were trying to revive them with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Sisk said.

Emergency personnel responded and continued CPR all the way to Erlanger East hospital, he said, where Monroe and the two children were pronounced dead.

Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@times freepress.com or 423-757-6651.

photo A grandmother and two grandchildren drowned behind 316 London Lane when their utility vehicle became submerged in a body of water near the home.

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