NEW MILFORD, Conn.—The Housatonic River has taken another life.
Simon Hernandez, a 43-year-old man from Yonkers, N.Y., drowned Sunday, July 13, in the Housatonic River near Kent Road in New Milford.
The alarm came into emergency responders around 4:10 p.m. on July 13 after multiple 911 calls reported a possible drowning in the Gaylordsville section of the river owned by First Light Power. FirstLight is required as part of its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license to provide public access to the river.
Hernandez had apparently entered a deeper part of the river, where he began to struggle and went under.
“It sounded like he was trying to fight the current to get out,” said Kent Volunteer Fire Department Captain Tim Sneller. “I don’t know whether he became exhausted, or what, but he went under and didn’t come back up.”
Search efforts involved the New Milford Police Dive Team, along with firefighters from Gaylordsville, Water Witch, Sherman, Kent and the Newtown Underwater Search & Rescue team.
According to Sneller, 10 first responders from the Kent/Warren Swift Water Rescue Team were at the scene.
“We responded with six technicians and four support personnel,” he said. “We brought our rescue truck, our Zodiac inflatable boat and our John Deer Gator, which we use for taking people out of the woods. While the New Milford dive team got ready, we were out on the river, but we went back along the edge when the divers went under.”
The men also stretched rope across the river to anchor boats while the search progressed.
Sneller said there were about 100 people along the riverbank, where they had been enjoying the hot afternoon. “The police were also doing crowd control, and I assume consoling family members,” he said.
When the body was discovered after a long search, the Kent/Warren team used their raft to transport the man to the river’s shore where he was pronounced dead.
The Housatonic has claimed many victims in the volatile stretch between Bull’s Bridge in Kent and Fisherman’s Cove in Gaylordsville. New Milford Mayor Peter Bass reiterated earlier warnings about the dangers the river poses.
“This is an area with major undercurrents that can trap even the most experienced swimmers,” he said in a statement. He said he would confer with FirstLight officials about the situation. The area is posted for no swimming.
