To add to the recent spate of drownings in the Catskills region, Ulster County police are reporting that a man drowned last night in the Rondout Creek in High Falls, according to the Daily Freeman and the Times Herald-Record:
The Ulster County Sheriff's office is investigating another drowning in the Hudson Valley.
The dive teams responded to a call for a person in the water around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on Route 213 in High Falls.
According to police, divers pulled a man's body out of the Rondout Creek.
1:40pm update: The Ulster County Sheriff's Office has sent out a press release that identifies the drowning victim as 26-year-old David Turner. It reports that he jumped off a 20-foot cliff into the water and and strugged to stay afloat before succumbing. Here's the press release in full:
Deputies from the Ulster County Sheriff's Office report responding to an In-Water rescue call which was received at approx 7:30 PM, 6/8/11, for the Rondout Creek in the vicinity of Rte. 213 in High Falls. Upon arrival, a witness described the victim to have jumped into the creek from an approximately 20 foot ledge, to which he then began struggling and subsequently went under water. Divers from the Ulster County Sheriff's Office, Ulster Hose Fire Department and the New York State Police then began underwater SCUBA operations in an area described by Sheriff's Office Master Diver Joseph Steyer as having a strong current, rocky and debris filled creek bottom and a depth of approx fourteen feet. Rescue divers were able to locate the victim at approx 8:38PM where he was pronounced dead.
The victim David S. Turner, age 26 of Poughquag, NY, was then transported to the Kingston hospital pending an autopsy today. The investigation is continuing.
Sheriff's Office personnel were assisted at the scene by High Falls Fire Department, Ulster County Fire Coordinators Office, Ulster Hose Fire Department, New York State Police and Mobile Life Paramedics.
