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Soon-to-be father of three drowned while saving a calf from stock pond

Coyote "Cody" Renner, 29, of Cleburne, is remembered as a kind, compassionate man, who left behind two daughters and an expectant wife

Coyote "Cody" Renner, 29, was a doting father of two girls, with a third on the way.

His family says he also took care of an elderly man in Cleburne, working as his ranch-hand and caregiver for years. They were together in a pasture Wednesday afternoon when the worst happened.

"Just the two of them, moving some cattle from one pasture to another," said Cleburne's acting fire chief Scott Lail, "and that's how the situation began. A small calf ran from them and into the pond."

Chief Lail said they got a 911 call that someone was drowning.

Firefighter John Cullen was one of the first to enter the stock pond.

"It's dense with mud. The bottom was silty, anywhere from 6-18 inches deep," Cullen said Thursday. "Every time you took a step, you had to pull yourself out of a foot, foot-and-a-half of mud."

The calf was able to escape. Renner, who we're told had rescued many calves from water before, didn't make it out.

"I can't even begin to understand the family's loss," Lail said.

News 8 visited with Renner's mother and mother-in-law Thursday evening. They didn't want to speak on camera, as it was too hard emotionally, but they shared with us who Cody was. They said he was a man who loved his wife, loved God. He enjoyed working with animals, being on the farm and teaching his two little girls ranching skills. He was so looking forward to being a father of three daughters. His wife is due in August.

A GoFundMe account had already raised $4,000 in seven hours Thursday, to help with funeral costs and to help care for the growing family he left behind. Cleburne ISD is also working to set up a fund, as Renner's wife Audrey is an elementary school teacher there.

"It sounds like Mr. Renner had touched a lot of people, and a lot of people knew him around the community," said Chief Lail.

A compassionate man, who left a lot of love behind.

His GoFundMe page

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