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MONTROSE, N.Y. The body of an 18-year-old man was recovered Monday morning from a Con Edison-owned body of water behind the Hendrick Hudson School District bus depot, New York State Police said.
The body of Santiago Mendia, 18, of Buchanan was recovered from the body of water just after 11 a.m. Monday morning, state police said. Relatives reported Mendia missing Sunday morning after he was last seen at the J.D. Latin American Restaurant in Montrose on Saturday night, at about 10 p.m., police said.
Troopers said, according to a preliminary investigation, that the drowning appears accidental.
State police said when Mendia was last seen, they believe he had a dispute with a woman in or around the J.D. Latin American Restaurant in Montrose. Police said they received a report Saturday night about a man making inappropriate comments to a woman, which they later confirmed was Mendia.
Buchanan Police Chief Brian Tubbs said it appears that Mendia left the scene and went toward the body of water behind the Hendrick Hudson School District bus depot after the dispute.
State police said they believe Mendia then stumbled into the large pond, or attempted to cross the pond and then drowned. State police Investigator Robert Mollica said only toxicology reports can confirm if alcohol was involved in the incident, but they have reports that Mendia was drinking Saturday night.
A search was attempted by State police Sunday night, but the investigation was hampered by thunderstorms Sunday evening.
The search resumed Monday morning at about 11 a.m. and investigators said that as state police began to converge on the pond, with a helicopter and bloodhounds, the body was found floating face-down in the pond.
The pond is only accessible via trails that lead down to the body of water. From maps available online, the body of water appears to about 800 feet long, and more than 200 feet wide.
It is unclear if the body of water has a formal name. Media representatives from Con Edison were not immediately available to comment on the incident as of 2 p.m. Monday afternoon.
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