Tawny Hinton died attempting to rescue a young boy from drowning, Bentonville, Arkansas, August 29, 2022. The boy, 11, submerged amid the fast-moving floodwater near the opening of a drainage pipe in a retention pond following a tropical storm. The boy was playing with his brother near the water’s edge when he dropped a branch into the pond. He extended his hand and attempted to retrieve the branch before slipping into the water, at which point he struggled to stay afloat amid the current. The boy’s brother entered the water and reached out and grasped the boy’s arm before the current caused him to lose his footing and he lost his grip on the boy. The brother returned to the pond’s edge and ran for help. Hinton, 47, social worker, was with the boys’ mother at the mother’s nearby apartment when the brother told them the boy had entered the water and submerged. Hinton and the mother ran to the pond, where both entered the water. Hinton waded, then swam in murky water to a fast-moving area near the pipe entrance close to the boy’s last-known location. She then submerged more than once, searching for the boy, but ultimately she submerged and did not resurface. The mother attempted to reach Hinton before the strength of the current forced her to exit the pond. Responding emergency personnel located the boy in a drainage ditch about 500 yards away. The boy was transported to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead; he had drowned. Hinton was located unresponsive about 50 feet away from the pond in a storm drain beneath a manhole. She was taken to a hospital, but she never regained consciousness before life support was withdrawn five days later. Hinton died of cardiac arrest and complications from drowning.
10421-Obituary
Tanya Michelle Hinton, age 47, of Bentonville passed away Saturday September 3, 2022, in Bentonville. She was born November 22, 1974, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the daughter of Ernest and Barbara Pyke Ritchie.
She worked as a Adoption worker for the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Her greatest joy was helping to make families and helping children find their forever homes. She would also be there for her co-workers and would help anyway she could.
She is survived by her husband Craig Hinton and two sons as well as a number of close friends who meant the world to her. Tanya “Tawny” only wanted the best for everyone and would use her humor and smile to make sure everyone felt great and that they were important.