STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

NEWS RELEASE

CASE#: 20A202674

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Detective Sgt. Richard Desany

STATION: St. Albans

CONTACT#: 802-524-5993

DATE/TIME: 6:19 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2020

INCIDENT LOCATION: Lake Champlain near Alburgh Dunes State Park, Alburgh, VT

INCIDENT: Missing swimmer

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

Multiple first-response agencies including the Vermont State Police are searching Lake Champlain for a swimmer who is missing and presumed dead near Alburgh Dunes State Park in Alburgh.

The Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department received an emergency call at 6:19 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2020, that an adult man had dived into the water from a boat on the lake and did not resurface despite the efforts of several other people on the vessel to rescue him.

Multiple police, fire, search and rescue personnel responded to the scene and began searching for the missing man. Search efforts included crews from Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department; the Vermont State Police; fire departments from Alburgh, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero, Swanton, and Rouses Point, New York; and a helicopter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The missing man had not been located as of 9 p.m.

The boat is believed to have originated at a marina in New York.

Police are interviewing witnesses and gathering additional information. The name of the man is being withheld pending further investigation and notification of next of kin.

Search and recovery efforts are expected to resume Wednesday, June 24, and include the Vermont State Police Scuba Team.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the St. Albans Barracks at 802-524-5993.

Additional details will be released when they become available.

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