CORNISH, NH–On Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 5:48 p.m., the Hanover Dispatch Center received a 911 call reporting a missing swimmer in the Connecticut River off the bank of the Blow Me Down Farm on Route 12A In Cornish. Emergency Responders from Cornish Fire, Rescue and Police Departments, along with Plainfield, Meriden, Windsor, Lebanon, Hanover and Hartford Fire Departments responded on an automatic Water Rescue Response Plan. They were assisted on scene by the NH Fish and Game Department and the NH State Police.
Rescue workers conducted searches of the river banks, and boats from Lebanon, Hanover and Hartford searched from the water. At 7:18 p.m., members of the Lebanon Fire Department spotted a male body in the river in about 8 to 10 feet of water. The body was recovered by members of the Hanover Fire Department Dive Team. The 21-year-old male was pronounced dead at the scene by the NH Medical Examiner’s Office.
Investigation revealed that the 21-year-old man from Alaska was an AmeriCorps member working with the Student Conservation Association at nearby St. Gaudens National Park. The man and another female member were swimming in the Connecticut River when the man did not resurface. The female called 911 summoning emergency responders to the scene.
The identity of the deceased was released Wednesday: Reed McWilliams, 21, of Bethel, Alaska.
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