A man’s body was recovered from the Connecticut River in the area of Smead Island, which divides Greenfield and Turners Falls, on Tuesday afternoon, just three days after a Worcester man drowned at the Rock Dam.
According to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, first responders were dispatched on Tuesday following a report of an individual found along the shoreline. Emergency personnel reached the body of the adult male, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the official cause of death.
Floyd “Skip” Dunnell III, who leads the Northfield Dive/Rescue Team, said on scene on Tuesday that Greenfield and Turners Falls firefighters brought the body to shore. He said four dive team members responded as a precaution but they were not needed.
At around 1:40 p.m., rescue personnel were seen moving a body bag through an open gate in a chain-link fence at the perimeter of property belonging to the Silvio O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center, which the U.S. Geological Survey operates.
According to the DA’s office, the active investigation is being conducted by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the DA’s office, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section and the Greenfield Police Department.
This marks the second recovery of a body locally in less than a week. Hermes Mariano Almonte Villar, 21, of Worcester, drowned while swimming with others at the Rock Dam, about a quarter-mile walk from Migratory Way in Turners Falls, on Saturday evening.
