Son of Noccalula Falls drowning victim mourns loss of his water-loving mom

IS SET FOR AUGUST THE 26TH. A TRAGIC ENDING TO A STORY WE’VE BEEN FOLLOWING SINCE SUNDAY. TODAY, AUTHORITIES FOUND THE BODY OF A 51 YEAR OLD WOMAN NOT FAR FROM NOCCALULA FALLS, WHERE SHE WAS LAST SEEN. ��13’S LISA CRANE WAS THERE WHEN AUTHORITIES SPOKE ABOUT THE SEARCH AND RECOVERY, AND HER SON RESPONDED TO THE NEWS. THE LAST THING THAT MY MOM SAID BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED, OUT OF EVERYONE’S SIGHT WAS SHE SAID, THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. DAWSON SMITH IS MOURNING THE LOSS OF HIS MOM, REGINA SMITH. THE 51 YEAR OLD WAS NEAR THE BOTTOM OF NOCCALULA FALLS ON A FLOAT WHEN HER FAMILY LAST SAW HER ON SUNDAY. YOU GET IN THAT WATER AND YOU THINK YOU’RE FINE, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU START DRIFTING AND YOU THINK, I’M HAVING FUN. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU START GOING FOR YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU’RE GOING. SEARCH CREWS USED DRONES TO CANVASS THE AREA AND SPENT TWO DAYS ON FOOT, UP AND DOWN THE BANKS OF BLACK CREEK LOOKING FOR SMITH. SHE WAS FOUND THIS MORNING ONLY ABOUT 200FT FROM THE FALLS. NOW, YOU CAN SEE THE FALLS RIGHT HERE AT THE BOTTOM THERE IS THE MOUTH OF THE GORGE. IT LOOKS PRETTY ROUGH, BUT NOT TOO FAR AWAY. WHEN THE POOLS HERE, THE LARGER POOLS, THEY LOOK PRETTY CALM. BUT DOWN THE WAY THERE YOU CAN SEE ALL THAT WATER BEING FUNNELED THROUGH THE STEEP TERRAIN IS SO DANGEROUS. EVEN PERSONNEL TRAINED FOR SWIFT WATER RESCUES DO NOT VENTURE IN THAT WATER IS. I WOULD PROBABLY CATEGORY AS A LEVEL FOUR, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY CATEGORY FIVE IS AS BAD AS IT GETS. WE DO HAVE SOME KAT FIVES DOWN IN THERE, BUT WHERE SHE WAS AT WOULD HAVE BEEN A CAT FOUR, BUT WE JUST FOR SAFETY REASONS, WE JUST WE COULDN’T WE COULDN’T RISK OUR GUYS GETTING IN THE WATER AT THE TIME. SMITH’S SON BELIEVES HIS MOM WAS UNAWARE OF THE DANGER. HE SAYS THERE SHOULD BE SIGNS OR INDICATORS THAT THE RAPIDS ARE POTENTIALLY DEADLY. HE BELIEVES HIS MOTHER, WHO LOVED THE WATER AND THE OUTDOORS, WOULD HAVE HEEDED THE WARNINGS. THERE’S A DIFFERENCE IN ENJOYING NATURE AND TRYING TO CHALLENGE NATURE FURTHER THAN YOU SHOULD, AND I THINK THAT SHE WOULD HAV

Emergency crews found the body of a missing 51-year-old mom at the gorge of Noccalula Falls on Tuesday.Regina Smith, 51, was last seen on a raft in Black Creek, according to the city of Gadsden. Emergency crews said her body was found in a news conference shortly before noon on Tuesday.Smith’s oldest son, Dawson, talked about his mom to ��13’s Lisa Crane. He said he doesn’t think she realized the danger. >> FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL: Facebook | X | Instagram | YouTube “I started hiking this trail when I was 11 years old, and I've went all down the banks all the way down the creek and back, and I never realized how severe those rapids were. And I believe that my mom didn't understand that either. And I think that she was just in this relaxing area that, you know, barely moves... And it just transitions from that to whitewater rafting level rapids. And if you don't understand that, that's a very high risk. I don't think she knew that," Dawson said.Dawson said he could tell others are unaware of the danger as well. “Even yesterday, when we were all out here searching, there was, 15 to 20 people just swimming in the area that my mom went missing. And there was kids, teenagers. They were trying to cross the rapids, trying to walk across them. And when we saw them, we said, 'Hey, like, if you fall in, you're going to die. You're going to drown.' I do think it would be nice if there was even just some type of a sign or something letting you know that there is hazard beyond this point, much more hazard than just a pool of water," Dawson said.Dawson is 25, he has a 21-year-old sister and an 18-year-old brother. >> �� 13 ON-THE-GO: Download our app for free“My brother, he graduated two weeks ago on Tuesday. He was the one with my mom when she went missing. And my sister is very distraught," Dawson said. "My sister, I don't even know if she just went home in three days. She's been here every second. She wanted to find her mom. And I was in Oklahoma when my mom went missing. I found out within the hour that she went missing, boarded a flight at 4 a.m. and flew home. And we've been out here ever since.”Dawson said his mom loved nature and was having a great day on Sunday. “My mom loved the water. My mom lived on the lake. Every trip we got, we would go to the beach. And we just loved water. That's been something in our lives growing up, and the last thing that my mom said before she disappeared out of everyone's sight was. She said, this is the best day of my life," Dawson said.Dawson believes there should be signage or some indication the white water is dangerous. He said he believes his mom would’ve heeded the warnings. “There’s a difference in enjoying nature and trying to challenge nature further than you should. And I think that she would have," Dawson said. "I mean, if there's a rope, a red rope that's telling you, hey, this is the point that you don't go past, then people usually adhere to that.��

GADSDEN, Ala. —

Emergency crews found the body of a missing 51-year-old mom at the gorge of Noccalula Falls on Tuesday.

Regina Smith, 51, was last seen on a raft in Black Creek, according to the city of Gadsden.

Emergency crews said her body was found in a news conference shortly before noon on Tuesday.

Smith’s oldest son, Dawson, talked about his mom to ��13’s Lisa Crane. He said he doesn’t think she realized the danger.

>> FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL: | | |

“I started hiking this trail when I was 11 years old, and I've went all down the banks all the way down the creek and back, and I never realized how severe those rapids were. And I believe that my mom didn't understand that either. And I think that she was just in this relaxing area that, you know, barely moves... And it just transitions from that to whitewater rafting level rapids. And if you don't understand that, that's a very high risk. I don't think she knew that," Dawson said.

Dawson said he could tell others are unaware of the danger as well.

“Even yesterday, when we were all out here searching, there was, 15 to 20 people just swimming in the area that my mom went missing. And there was kids, teenagers. They were trying to cross the rapids, trying to walk across them. And when we saw them, we said, 'Hey, like, if you fall in, you're going to die. You're going to drown.' I do think it would be nice if there was even just some type of a sign or something letting you know that there is hazard beyond this point, much more hazard than just a pool of water," Dawson said.

Dawson is 25, he has a 21-year-old sister and an 18-year-old brother.

>> �� 13 ON-THE-GO: Download our app for free

“My brother, he graduated two weeks ago on Tuesday. He was the one with my mom when she went missing. And my sister is very distraught," Dawson said. "My sister, I don't even know if she just went home in three days. She's been here every second. She wanted to find her mom. And I was in Oklahoma when my mom went missing. I found out within the hour that she went missing, boarded a flight at 4 a.m. and flew home. And we've been out here ever since.��

Dawson said his mom loved nature and was having a great day on Sunday.

“My mom loved the water. My mom lived on the lake. Every trip we got, we would go to the beach. And we just loved water. That's been something in our lives growing up, and the last thing that my mom said before she disappeared out of everyone's sight was. She said, this is the best day of my life," Dawson said.

Dawson believes there should be signage or some indication the white water is dangerous. He said he believes his mom would’ve heeded the warnings.

“There’s a difference in enjoying nature and trying to challenge nature further than you should. And I think that she would have," Dawson said. "I mean, if there's a rope, a red rope that's telling you, hey, this is the point that you don't go past, then people usually adhere to that.��

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Son of Noccalula Falls drowning victim mourns loss of his water-loving mom

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