ETOWAH COUNTY, Ala. ( WBRC ) - A former captain of the Etowah County Rescue Squad has been found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

Michael Ervin Bettis, of Gadsden, was trial for the death of rescue squad member Vicky Ryan. She drowned during a rescue effort in April 2015.

Bettis was charged with one misdemeanor count of criminally negligent homicide in Ryan’s death.

Rescuers were searching for missing kayaker Dakota Crandall, 25, whom they believed capsized while he was trying to go over a low-head dam , which can create a waterfall-like effect, on Big Wills Creek.

The kayak was still floating in the area when rescuers arrived but Crandall never resurfaced. His body was found the next day.

During the rescue effort, two rescue boats came too close to a spillway and cap

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