Albury teenager, Gypsy Harmer, 15, recently shared her frightening experience of falling from a tree at Oddies Creek Park.

Mr Marshall, the Albury and Border Rescue Squad deputy captain, said he hoped her story would cause a ripple effect and stop people from taking risks.

“If this young girl has a few hundred friends on Facebook and can even get the message through half their heads - that's a great start,” he said.

“The Murray is the most dangerous river and has claimed the most lives in Australia.”

The worst case Mr Marshall could remember was in 2010, when a young man died after jumping from Corowa's John Foord Bridge.

He said he had also attended scenes where people were severely injured or paralysed from jumping or swinging into the water.

“Some of these people had big aspirations which were taken away all through 15 minutes of bad decisions,” Mr Marshall said.

“One of the hardest things is having to pack up for the day because it's too dark or dangerous.

“Having to watch the family - and they know it's what we have to do - it eats them away because you can’t stay there.

“You want to do everything you possibly can to bring closure to the family, ideally you want to find the person alive, but as the hours tick on the chances go down.”

Wodonga woman Karen Butterworth is familiar with the devastation of people taking risks at the river.

On March 9, 1997 her older brother swung into the water never to be seen again.

The 17-year-old was camping with friends near the train overpass up from Noreuil Park.

“His mates say they saw him surface make a noise then disappear under the water again,” Mrs Butterworth said.

“He never resurfaced and a mate ran to the nearest house to call for help.

“Police divers were called to search for his body and found him in deep water not far from where he was last seen.

“The police report said his foot was stuck in tree roots.”

Mrs Butterworth, who was 12 at the time, told The Border Mail grief hit during her early 20s.

“I could see our parents were devastated so adjusting to life at home was difficult,” she said.

“I have had one other near-fatal experience with my now husband during a float from Waterworks … he went under and the current was to strong for any of our group to do anything - I haven't been back in the river since.”