A Boy Scout from Lexington, Massachusetts, died in a boating accident in New Hampshire on Friday, one of three separate water-related deaths reported in the state that day, according to state police.
The bodies of a Massachusetts woman and a man, both in their early 40s, were also found in bodies of water Friday, the New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol said Saturday.
The Scout, who was from an out-of-state group, was in a boat on Manning Lake in Gilmanton when it had an unspecified kind of accident about 2:15 p.m., police said. The boy was fatally injured.
The Boy Scouts' Daniel Webster Council confirmed that a Scout had died in "a tragic accident."
"We offer our deepest condolences to the Scout's family and ask everyone to please join in keeping this young man and his loved ones in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time," the group said in a Facebook post Saturday.
The superintendent for Lexington Public Schools sent a message to the district's families later Saturday to address the tragic news, saying the child is a Clarke Middle School student who was attending a summer camp when he was involved in the fatal boating accident.
Julie Hackett said the incident was reportedly witnessed by several other Clarke students attending the same summer camp, adding that details are still emerging as state police investigate.
Hackett said efforts are underway to support the student's family and the community, including making grief counseling available for Clarke students and staff. Details are to follow.
"Our hearts are with the victim’s family, as well as the Clarke school community and all those impacted by this tragic event," the superintendent wrote. "We are blessed to be part of a loving, caring community, and we come together in times of need. I know that you will continue to be there for one another, and you will keep all those affected by this tragedy in your thoughts and prayers."
School officials and police have not publicly released the boy's name at this time.
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Later Friday, the body of a 40-year-old man, Shawn Barton, was discovered by boaters in the Piscataquog River in Manchester, near Goffstown, police said. It wasn't immediately clear how Barton died or where he was from.
And when a swimmer on Middle Pea Porridge Pond in Madison didn't return to her family's waterfront rental property by about 8:45 p.m., they called 911, police said. Divers from Ossipee found the body of Amy Posocco, a 41-year-old from Beverly, Massachusetts, about 90 feet from shore.
Posocco's death is believed to be accidental, but investigators were continuing to look into what caused it on Saturday, according to police.
"New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol would like to extend our condolences to the families of the three victims," police said in a statement.
