Font ResizeBRATTLEBORO -- Local emergency responders are urging people looking to beat the heat by taking advantage of the county’s many swimming areas to use caution.
On Tuesday, July 3, the Vermont State Police received a report of a missing woman in Newfane. A man had dropped his wife off near the Townshend town line to go tubing on the West River in Newfane at about 3:30 p.m. He had planned to meet up with her at the junction of the Rock and West rivers in Dummerston, about 5 miles downstream.
The woman was alone and without a personal floatation device.
The Newbrook Fire Department was summoned to assist in the search, but prior to launch the woman was located and had made contact with her husband.
In a similar incident, a Hinsdale, N.H., man drowned in the Connecticut River on Thursday, July 5, after his girlfriend dropped him off with a kayak that morning.
The woman returned at 12:30 to pick him up and saw him swimming alongside the kayak in the middle of the river, New Hampshire Fish and Game Sgt. Dave Walsh Walsh told the Reformer. "She took her eyes off him and when she looked up he was completely gone," he said.
The man’s body was discovered in 15 feet of water on Friday.
The Vermont State Police offer the following tips for anyone preparing to go swimming:
-- Travel in a group. If you get hurt or lost, you don’t want to be left completely alone in the wilderness.
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-- Follow any posted rules pertaining to pollution and contamination. Even small amounts of contaminated water can create health problems.
-- Pack plenty of sunscreen.
-- When doing something like tubing, consider hiring a guide, and arrange for someone to meet you at the end of your trip. Set a specific time and location.
-- Learn CPR practices.
-- Check the weather forecast before leaving.
-- Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all.
