Bodies Of Stepfather And Son Found In NH River
BOSCAWEN, N.H. (CBS/AP) — Police found the body of a 10-year-old boy who went under water in a river in Boscawen, New Hampshire, and several hours later found his stepfather, who went in to save him.
Boscawen police say a family of four were swimming in a sandbar in the Merrimack River when the boy went under water. The incident happened in the early evening hours on Wednesday near the Hannah Duston Bridge.
His 34-year-old stepfather went in after him, and the pair never resurfaced.
The mother called 911 after seeing both disappear.
Crews were called to the scene around 6 p.m. Wednesday, but the search was suspended after nearly three hours.
On Thursday, a low-flying National Guard helicopter searched the surface waters of the river, while a dive team searched the deeper waters, assisted by boats that towed them through the current far easier than Wednesday night.
"Yesterday, we would have had six inches or less visibility all day and we would have been struggling all day in the current with the boat," said New Hampshire Fish and Game Lt. James Kneeland."
The boy was found Thursday morning around 8:30.
His stepfather was found about a half mile down the river from where the pair initially went under the water.
A mother, who swims in the same area, was left shaking her head at the news.
"It's a risky thing going down there sometimes," says Samantha Casiano.
"We never had much of an issue, but we always had a healthy respect for the river as well," added fellow swimmer Caitlin Young."
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