Man drowns in Ohio
Victim a 63-year-old Princeton, W.Va., manBy DAVE PAYNE Sr., dpayne@newsandsentinel.com
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PARKERSBURG - Despite a Herculean effort from dozens of emergency responders from numerous agencies, officials were unable to save the life of a Mercer County man who perished in the Ohio River, just a few yards from the Point Park shore Saturday.
Parkersburg Police Sgt. Greg Nangle said officials were not releasing the name of the victim, pending notification of family, but said the deceased was a 63-year-old man from Princeton, W.Va.
A Wood County 911 dispatcher said a man disappeared into the Ohio River near the park around 4:15 p.m. Saturday.
Officials said family members attempted to locate the man, but were unsuccessful. Arriving shortly after the 911 call was Parkersburg Fire Department Capt. John Green, a trained lifeguard. Green jumped in the water, but was also unable to find the man, said Parkersburg Fire Department Capt. J.D. Smith.
Within minutes, a boat from the Parkersburg police and fire departments' new dock at the Parkersburg Yacht Club arrived on the scene.
Time, however, ran out far too quickly, J.D. Smith said.
"In this warm weather," he said, "if you can't get them out in 10 or 15 minutes, it becomes a recovery operation. So we called for the dive team."
Nangle said the man had been aboard a sternwheeler that was about to dock at Point Park. Instead of waiting to depart there, he jumped overboard and attempted to swim to shore.
"The sternwheeler was about 100 yards out. He undressed down to his shorts and jumped in the water. About 20 yards out, he went under and didn't come back up. From what we know right now, we suspect alcohol was a factor," Nangle said.
Even though the man was only a stone's throw from shore when he sank beneath the surface, the water is about 25 feet deep there. The Ohio River has long been dammed for navigation, but the ancient riverbed remains. The current riverbed is shallow for a few feet from shore, but then drops sharply into the original riverbed.
The recovery operation was a cooperative effort of dozens of people from various agencies: the Wood County Sheriff's Department, Parkersburg police and fire departments, East Wood, Blennerhassett and Vienna volunteer fire departments, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Camden-Clark and St. Joseph's hospitals' ambulances as well as trained volunteers.
The Wood County Sheriff's Department Dive Team, as well as volunteer diver Arnie Greene, arrived a short while later. Boats from the East Wood and Blennerhassett fire departments kept numerous curious boaters away from the recovery area.
It didn't take long for divers to find the man. Greene, the last diver to enter the river, had just started wading into the water when Deputy Jim Asbury rose to the surface, motioned to shore and somberly said "We need a (body) bag."
Nangle said the man was pronounced dead at the scene and the body was expected to be sent to the state medical examiner's office in South Charleston for autopsy.
Although the newly-formed dive team has been in the water three times this week, this was its first recovery, said Wood County Chief Deputy T.R. Smith.
"One of our goals has been to create a dive team and we were able to equip one with military surplus items and money from the concealed-carry fund. Today shows there is a great need for it," T.R. Smith said.
It was also the first time the new police/fire boat dock was used to help a drowning victim. Like the dive team, the boat dock was created at little taxpayer expense. Previously, officials had to take a boat from the city building and launch it at the Corning Boat Ramp on Worthington Creek. The dock is only a few yards from the park and each department has a boat permanently moored there.
"This shows we have a need for the dock," said Parkersburg Police Chief Gerald Board. "We were able to respond much quicker because of it."
