WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Drowning in Addison

Drowning in Addison

Addison, Vermont - July 26, 2009

Rescue crews searched from the sky, land and water for a man reported missing at 11:30 Sunday morning.

"When we arrived on scene we found it was a person who had jumped out of a boat and they had lost contact with the person in the water at that time," said Addison Fire Chief Chris Mulliss.

The man was in a rowboat with his wife on Oven Bay when he decided to go for a swim. He jumped in and disappeared.

"Some people on shore made the 911 call," Mulliss said. "They heard her screaming from the boat, calling for help."

Crews responded from the U.S. Coast Guard, Vermont State Police, Vergennes Water Rescue, Town Line First Response, and the Addison Fire Dept. A helicopter from the Dept. Of Homeland Security searched from the air.

Rescuers say the man was not wearing a life vest because he was going swimming, and his wife told them he was an experienced swimmer. But they knew soon after their arrival that it would be a recovery effort, not a rescue. Mulliss said the warm water actually lessened the chance of survival.

"You have a better chance of surviving with the cold," he said. "The cold air closes the glands in your throat, leaves oxygen in your lungs."

Search crews said high winds would make locating the victim more difficult, but visibility under water was relatively good.

"It's a hard shale bottom," Mulliss said. "There's not a lot of weeds, not a lot of clay, so it's pretty clean water."

Search crews found the man's body just after 5:00 Sunday evening, about 100 feet from where he had disappeared. Police are not releasing the man's name or age at this point, but say he and his wife were visiting from Connecticut.

Kate Duffy - WCAX News