RIPLEY, NY – The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office is reporting a drowning incident that took place in Lake Erie in the Town of Ripley Thursday afternoon.
According to a media release, the Sheriff’s Office, Westfield Police and numerous fire departments and first responders were called to an area of Ripley Beach for the report of a male in Lake Erie who was in distress.
Four subjects had reportedly gone to the Ripley Beach area to go cliff jumping and two of the subjects, both 19 year old males, jumped into the water and became distressed. Police say one was located on some rocks at the bottom of a cliff and was rescued. Police say the other male was unable to get out of the water and had already drowned when first responders arrived. Due to the very rough water conditions, the drowning victim has not yet been recovered and recovery operations will be on-going.
Police have not released the name of the missing drowning victim but say he was from Erie, Pennsylvania. The other distressed swimmer who was rescued was from Waterford, Pennsylvania.
Investigation into this incident is continuing.
Leave a Reply