Investigation Underway After 23-Year-Old Man Was Pulled From The Monongahela River
NEW EAGLE, Pa. (KDKA) -- A day of celebrating our nation's independence turned tragic at a marina in Washington County.
Investigators believe a man was swimming in the water nearby when they believe he drowned.
"We were on the boat by the rope swing and heard someone got electrocuted," said boater Dustin Koenig.
That's what long-time boater Dustin Koenig said he heard about Sunday night's incident near the Beach Club Marina.
Police said it's one of the many things they're looking into.
"We received some reports of concerns of that," said Monongahela Police Chief Kevin Harris.
Right now, the Washington County Coroner's office is investigating this as a possible drowning. Investigators said James DeAngelo, 23, was swimming in the Monongahela River near a green and white boat docked at the Beach Club Marina around 7:30 Sunday night when he was found unresponsive and then pulled from the water. The police chief believes DeAngelo was on the boat as a guest before he ended up in the river.
"It was like a big party before we left. I didn't expect to come back to that," said Koenig. "There was a fire truck sitting here and a bunch of police cars, so I went to get my car and talked to police officers."
That's what police said they're doing. They're gathering as much as they can from witnesses to try and put the pieces together. Police said they're not ruling anything out.
"We received various views of what individuals saw the young man doing down here. Where he was at and we are following all of this," said Harris.
DeAngelo was pronounced dead at Monongahela Valley Hospital. Monongahela Police are leading up the investigation with the help of the Fish and Boat Commission. Investigators said it's up to the coroner to determine how DeAngelo died.
KDKA's Amy Wadas also reached out to the Beach Club Marina for comment, and has yet to hear back.
