SHANDAKEN, N.Y. — Debris in a Hudson Valley creek that led to the drowning death of a teenage Connecticut girl has been cleared away.
The Daily Freeman of Kingston reports New York National Guard members cleared trees and other debris that had piled up along the banks of the Esopus Creek in Ulster County.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo dispatched the troops last week to clear waterway blockages in anticipation of Hurricane Joaquin’s potential for bringing heavy rains to the region. The Guardsmen used excavating equipment to pull apart the strainer in which 14-year-old Jordyn Engler of Ellington became trapped while tubing with her father on Sept. 5.
A strainer is a water hazard created when wood and other debris get pushed up along the shoreline.
The teenager got trapped and died before rescuers could reach her.
