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The incident took place around 6:20 p.m., Tuesday, June 29, when the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office, New Hackensack Fire Department, and Town of Wappinger Ambulance to a possible drowning in the Wappinger Creek located behind the Wappingers Falls Trailer Park on New Hackensack Road.
First arriving responders used a citizen’s rowboat to begin searching for a missing male swimmer, said Lieutenant Shawn Castano.
Additional resources were requested to the scene including swift-water rescue teams from the Arlington and LaGrange Fire Departments, the New Hamburg Fire Department, as well as several others including the New York State Police and the county's Department of Emergency Response.
During the multi-agency search effort, New Hamburg firefighters located the man at approximately 7:30 p.m., Castano said.
Emergency life-saving techniques were initiated and the man was transported by Town of Wappinger Ambulance to Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital where he was declared dead.
The victim is a 20-year-old male resident of the Town of Poughkeepsie, Castano said.
The Sheriff’s Office reminds everyone to use extreme caution whenever swimming in a river, lake, stream, creek, or another natural water environment.
Fast-moving currents, waves, and rapids are extremely dangerous. Other dangers such as waterfalls, dams, underwater obstacles, rocks, and debris also pose an extreme threat.
Additionally, anyone swimming in a natural water environment should always wear a personal floatation device.
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