Divers have recovered the body of a man who went missing in a reservoir in Norton, Massachusetts, Monday night, while he was boating with two other men.
The Norton Fire Department confirmed late Monday that Massachusetts Environmental Police using sonar equipment discovered the man's body around 11 p.m., and it was then recovered by state police divers.
Multiple agencies spent hours searching the Norton Reservoir for the man, who was first reported missing around 7:30 p.m.
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Norton police say they received a 911 call around 7:30 p.m. Monday reporting that he had jumped off the back of a boat into the water and did not reappear.
The man was identified Tuesday as Ronald Carty, a 42-year-old from Attleboro. The Bristol County District Attorney's Office said the drowning appeared to be accidental but were still investigating.
Carty went boating around 6:30 p.m. with two other men, who called 911 about an hour later to report that the third man had jumped off the back of a boat into the water and did not reappear. They told police they tossed a life preserver to the man in the water but that he did not grab it before dipping below the surface and they were unsuccessful in trying to save him.
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Deputy Chief Todd Jackson said Monday that preliminarily it appeared the other two men might have worked with the man.
The boat belongs to one of the two men who called 911, Jackson said, adding that he didn't know if they were out fishing, or just boating Monday night. The incident occurred about 100 yards off shore, Jackson said, adding that it's not very deep but there are a lot of weeds in the water. First responders turned to sonar to find the man's body.
Aerial video showed a very active scene at Juniper Road Monday night, with teams searching in vey dark conditions. Jackson had reiterated that it was a very active search and that they would stay out as long as they could, or as long as they deemed necessary.
Fire Chief Shawn Simmons thanked Norton police and their mutual aid partners for their immediate response.
Norton first responders were assisted by many nearby agencies, including Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Environmental Police, Norton Emergency Management, and Metropolitan Enforcement Council (METRO-LEC). Multiple dive teams also responded, including the Bristol North Regional Dive Team and the Cumberland, Rhode Island, Dive Team.
A state police helicopter assisted in the search.
