MIDDLETOWN--Officials recovered a body from a pond in Middletown on Wednesday afternoon.
Chief Robert Ross of the South District Fire Department in Middletown tells Fox CT that a call came in around 3:15 p.m. that a man who was in the water off an abandoned quarry up in the woods hadn't surfaced. The water he was in is on Bow Lane, down a dirt road along Jeep Trail.
The 24-year-old man was in the water for about an hour and 10 minutes before rescuers pulled his body out.
Hospital officials, a dive team, the fire department and police all responded to the scene. Ross says the rescue was very difficult because of the terrain; the area is blocked off by a fence, but it has deteriorated throughout the years, making it easier for people to gain access to the water.
"It's not a safe place," Ross said. "It was extremely challenging to get into the water, to deploy divers to recover the missing swimmer."
The area where the body was found was off a 30-foot ledge, and he was in about 30 feet of water. The victim apparently jumped off the quarry into the reservoir.
Around 4:40 p.m., the victim's body was loaded into an ambulance and taken away.
Ross asks kids to stay out of the area because it is so dangerous. "Our ability to come out and rescue somebody is very, very challenging should they get into distress, as was proven here today."
Middletown police have now taken control of the investigation.
Capt. Sean Moriarty said detectives interviewed witnesses. "Just trying to find out what was happening prior to him going in to the water," Moriarty said.
It's not the first incident in this area, he said. Police sometimes patrol it on hot days. "Officers come up and take a walk through to advise people not to be out here," Moriarty said.
Middletown officials have not yet released the drowning victim's name.
