NATCHEZ — Natchez police officer Kajlil Jenkins said whatever resources they could find, including civilian ones, came quickly to help rescue three juveniles from the Mississippi River at Silver Street on Sunday afternoon.

One of the victims, a 16-year-old attempting to rescue her younger brothers from drowning, was “in the water a good 20 or 25 minutes,” Jenkins said.

He saw people in the water before anyone had time to call 911 and called it in on his radio at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Seven-year-old Lakeithius “Eli” Brashears reportedly slipped on wet pavement and fell into the water and his brother Lakeivion Brashears, 8, and sister Jaila Tobias, 16, jumped in after him.

Doug Pruett from Montgomery, Alabama, said he and his wife Judy were eating at a nearby restaurant for their 25th anniversary and saw the commotion. He and another man whose name he didn’t know were able to get the two younger children out safely. Tobias, however, was caught in the current and carried beyond their reach about 250 yards out, authorities said.

Natchez Fire Chief Robert Arrington said while first responders were en route to the river, they spotted civilians Jackson Moody and Taylor Little at Fat Mama’s Tamales on Canal Street with a boat on a trailer and asked them to help.

Authorities also asked another civilian Jake Meriwether to stop with his boat and he did, but it wasn’t needed.

Civilians Jackson Moody and Taylor Little used a boat to rescue a teen who jumped into the Mississippi River trying to rescue her two younger siblings and got swept up by the current. Each of the three juveniles are safe and expected to recover. (Submitted)

Moody and Little “were able to get their boat into the water and get her out,” Arrington said, adding, “She is on her way to the (Merit Health) hospital. She was conscious but not feeling well at all. She drank a lot of river water but we expect her to be OK.”

Arrington said the young people were very fortunate that the civilians were there, some with boats, to get to them quickly.

“The teenager was too far out and I knew good and well I couldn’t swim that good,” added Pruett.

WAYNE COUNTY, Miss. (WKRG) — A man from Washington County, Alabama is dead after a shooting at a Mississippi bar.

The coroner in Wayne County, Mississippi confirms 24-year-old Brandon Cartwright, from Fruitdale, was shot and killed at High Noon Lounge and Karaoke in Waynesboro at about 2 Saturday morning.

Waynesboro Police are also investigating and believe the suspect may have driven away in a tan SUV.

A post from the bar says “The entire High Noon family prays that Heaven comforts both the victim and his entire family for this tragic loss of life this past Saturday morning. Lately, our community has been victimized by a group of ruthless criminals and we are committed to assisting law enforcement in bringing the responsible parties to justice.”

Family members have already set up a GoFundMe account for funeral expenses. Tributes online say Cartwright was a young father.

Mississippi State football faces a daunting schedule in 2024. Going into the year they have six games in which earning a win would mean pulling off a big upset. But there are winnable games on the schedule to give them a chance at earning bowl-eligibility. Here are the six easiest games on the schedule…

State gets to ease into the 2024 season with their FCS opponent. Eastern Kentucky has played a few competitive games with FBS teams in recent years, including providing a momentary scare against Kentucky last season. But it’s still a FCS team coming off a losing season. State should roll.

UMass might as well be a FCS team, and honestly there’s a chance EKU is actually better. But the shades of 2016 and 2017 when State found themselves in struggles with the Minutemen has them as merely second-easiest. But this is a truly bad team that’s a long ways away from competitiveness.

Jason Candle has done a great job at Toledo. The Rockets are a perennial MAC contender and can challenge power conference teams. But they just lost nearly everyone from last season’s 11-win team, and a clear step back is likely in store. They’ll still be solid, but assuming State doesn’t overlook them, they should be fine.

Kenny Dillingham inherited a mess at his alma mater, but even in last year’s 3-9 campaign, he at least made them competitive. The Sun Devils are going to rely on several transfers to improve this season, and they could take a step forward. This game might be tricky on the road, but overall, State’s still got quite a bit more talent.

I’d wager that last year’s 7-3 final score in this game won’t be replicated. Sam Pittman is relying (probably unwillingly) on a familiar face in Fayetteville to save his job. Bobby Petrino should get the Hogs scoring more, but that’s not saying much. State has owned Arkansas since they originally fired Petrino. We’ll see if his return changes the direction of the series, but the Bulldogs should have the edge at home.

Billy Napier is the coach everyone assumes will be fired by the end of 2024 given the combination of poor early results and an almost unbelievable gauntlet of a schedule. But it’s possible the Gators are actually ok this year. There’s some nice pieces on offense, but their defense will have to make big improvements if Napier’s going to survive. Both teams need this game badly for a positive season.