This Google map shows the general area of the Housatonic River where the person was found.
SEYMOUR — UPDATE: The woman who was found in the Housatonic River Thursday night has died, according to an email sent by a spokesman from the state Department of Environmental and Energy Protection at 2:47 p.m. Friday (Aug. 2).
She was identified Sunday, Aug. 4 as Alyssa MacKinnon. She was 30 years old. The medical examiner will determine a cause of death, according to the email.
The original story is posted below:
A woman pulled from the Housatonic River Thursday evening was initially found submerged under a paddle board, according to the woman who said she discovered the body.
The victim’s name and condition had not been released as of 11 p.m. Aug. 1. Local officials referred a reporter to the state Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police. The CTPost reported that an EnCon official described the incident as a “near drowning.”
Ethan Van Ness, a spokesman for the state agency, confirmed on Friday morning that a person was taken to the hospital but had no further information.
Emergency dispatchers received a 911 call reporting a body in the Housatonic River at about 6 p.m., prompting a large response from EMS, fire and police in Derby, Seymour and Shelton, three communities that border the river.
Melanie Petro lives on Birchbank Road in Shelton, on the shores of the Housatonic. She said she was out on the river with her husband, retired Shelton volunteer firefighter Tim Manion, when they got a cell phone call from firefighters saying there was a report of a kayaker face-down in the water.
Petro said they were near the Stevenson Dam when they received the call and began heading down river while scanning the water.
“All of the sudden we see a paddle board floating,” Petro said.
She put on a life jacket and jumped into the river to retrieve the paddle board. Once she was with the board, she saw that a woman was about six inches to a foot underneath it, floating face down.
Petro described the woman as being in her early 30s, which matched a description relayed by firefighters over their radio.
Petro said the woman was not wearing a life jacket, and was tethered to the board at the waist.
Petro said she grabbed the woman and turned her over so her face was out of the water. The woman was not conscious, Petro said.
They could not lift the woman into their boat because it was too far above the waterline, but they spotted a man they knew on his dock next to shore. They asked him to come out in his boat to retrieve the woman.
Manion was on his phone telling emergency responders they were on the Seymour side of the river.
The person was taken from the water to the dock and then loaded into a stretcher to be carried up an embankment and into an ambulance. CPR was performed.
Seymour police and Connecticut Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police were on scene as of 7 p.m. investigating. EnCon police get involved in boating-related incidents.
Seymour Police Chief John Bucherati said Friday morning that EnCon police are in charge of the investigation. His department assisted with interviews and searching for evidence.
Petro said the current was not strong when she jumped into the water Thursday night. She attributed that to the fact the river was treated with pesticides earlier in the day Thursday. First Light, the company that owns the Stevenson Dam, slows water flow while the river is treated. Click here for more info.
However, Petro said a few wake boats had been out on the Housatonic River earlier. Those boats create wakes that enable wakeboarding. Petro said the combination of the low current and the wakes being created could have made it very difficult to be on a paddle board.
This story will be updated if more information is released to the public.
The original post from Thursday follows:
SEYMOUR — A person was pulled from the Housatonic River Thursday evening (Aug. 1) and rushed by ambulance to Yale-New Haven Hospital.
The condition of the person was not known as of 7:13 p.m. Details were scarce.
Emergency dispatchers received a 911 call reporting a body in the water at about 6 p.m.
Emergency crews from Derby and Seymour descended onto Roosevelt Drive. Shelton crews responded to the opposite side of the river.
The person was located in the water in the area of 252 or 256 Roosevelt Drive in Seymour.
The person was taken from the water to a dock on the shore and then loaded into a stretcher to be carried up an embankment and into an ambulance. CPR was performed.
Seymour police and Connecticut Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police were on scene as of 7 p.m. investigating. EnCon police get involved in boating-related incidents.
The person may have been female, according to an emergency transmission, but that could not be confirmed as of 7:19 p.m. Officials could only confirm that a person was taken out of the water and to the hospital.
This story will be updated if more information is released to the public.
