BRISTOL — Area police and rescue officials on Friday, July 5, continued to search for a 26-year-old man believed to have drowned in the turbulent waters of the New Haven River in Bristol on July 4.
Vermont State Police Lt. William Jenkins said a call came in to police at around 3 p.m. regarding a man who had allegedly been swept over the Bartlett Falls in Bristol. State police, Bristol fire, Middlebury Technical Rescue, and Vermont Fish and Wildlife officials responded to the scene, but were not successful in locating the man.
Middlebury Technical went out into the water in an attempt to locate the victim, but a violent rainstorm forced them to suspend operations due to dangerous conditions. Members of the Vermont State Police Scuba Team assessed the situation and it was decided to suspend efforts that evening and reassemble on July 5 to make another attempt at locating the victim, whose name has not yet been released by authorities.
State police are reminding everyone that due to the recent rainy weather, rivers and streams are much higher and more dangerous than they usually are this time of year. Extreme caution should be used when doing any activity around a waterway, and when in doubt, stay away from the water.