Published: July 18, 2008 09:49 pm            

NORTH TONAWANDA: Body pulled from river

Victim drowned off of Fishermens Park

NORTH TONAWANDA — After an hour-long search Friday night, members of a rescue team pulled the body of a 28-year-old man who drowned in the Niagara River near Fishermans Park.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m., police received a call that a man had jumped off a pier into the water and didn’t resurface.

Two 15-year-old girls, Cody Brittain and Jessica Taylor, said they saw the man jump into the river and said he was swimming fine before climbing back onto the pier.

“He started talking to us and told us his name,” Taylor said.

A short time later, he jumped in a second time and the girls said he began struggling in the water and went under.

“We waited about a minute, we didn’t have a cell phone so we ran to find someone who did,” Taylor said.

Dive team members pulled the victim’s body from the water at 7:23 p.m., concluding an hour-long search, North Tonawanda Lt. Dan Mahoney said. The drowning was ruled as accidental.

Police did not releasing the victim’s name Friday night.

Personnel from six agencies, including the North Tonawanda police and fire departments, City of Tonawanda police, New York State Parks Police and Niagara County Sheriff’s Department, combed the river searching for the victim. On board the City of Tonawanda police boat, Capt. James Litz and Lt. Patrick Rank used the department’s sonar equipment to help locate the body.

Officers who responded to the call said there no “No Swimming” signs posted in the area.

It’s the first drowning in the Tonawandas in nearly two years. In August 2006, City of Tonawanda police pulled a 21-year-old drowning victim’s body from the Erie Canal.

        

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