EAST HADDAM — DEEP has suspended the search for a missing swimmer in the Connecticut River.
DEEP tweeted Monday evening saying:
“Connecticut Environmental Conservation Police and the State Police Dive Team have suspended search and recovery operations in the Connecticut River, Lyme, for a missing 42 year old male drowning victim. No further operations are planned at this time pending further developments.”
Officials were searching for a 40-year-old man who went missing around 5:40 p.m. Sunday.
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Spokesman Keith Williams said the man appeared to be having trouble in the water before he went missing.
DEEP said the Meriden man went missing near the area of the Hadlyme Ferry, which is right in front of Gillette Castle.
“It looks so tranquil, so calm and they don’t realize there’s a very strong current here,” says Moodus resident Kim Farnsworth. “Even the best of swimmers, it’ll just sweep you right away.”
“There was lots of debris in the water and evidence that the water had risen high and the current was strong,” said John Marshall, a Chester Hadlyme Ferry Captain for the past twenty years. “It’s tidal, so you’re gonna have some current, but not to this extreme.”
Dark waters, fast currents, and debris are adding to the challenge rescue crews have of locating him.
“The water’s become discolored,” said Marshall. “There’s a lot of debris in the water, so it makes visibility difficult.”
