BALDWINSVILLE -- Authorities say a 16-year-old upstate New York girl has drowned in the Susquehanna River and searchers have found the body of a 25-year-old man who went missing while swimming in a Syracuse-area lake.
State police say Rhoda Stoltzfus was swimming Tuesday with her 14-year-old brother when a current swept them into a deep pool near their home in Bainbridge in the Southern Tier. The boy made it to shore, but wasn't able to help his sister.
Troopers say her body was recovered about 45 minutes later.
Police divers searching Beaver Lake in Baldwinsville found Benjamin Hodgson's body at around 12:40 Wednesday afternoon.
The North Syracuse man and a girl were swimming from a canoe Tuesday afternoon when he went under and didn't resurface. Police say there's no sign of foul play. The investigation is continuing.
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Updated 2:30 p.m. Wednesday:
State Police have resumed their search for a man who disappeared while swimming in Beaver Lake.
Benjamin L. Hodgson of North Syracuse and a friend rented a canoe around 2:30 Tuesday afternoon. State Police say the 25-year-old Hodgson was last seen swimming in about ten feet of water in the western part of the lake.
Sgt. Ed Foster says an aerial search of the lake was called off due to low visibility in the water. Foster says a special sonar has been brought in to help divers see through the heavy silt.
"Due to the low visibility of the water the divers are using what we call a 'Side Scan Sonar'. The sonar is able to scan through the algae and pick up any objects that might be in the water. The divers that are using it are quite well versed in operating the sonar. So we expect there is a good chance they will find something today," he says.
Original Story:
State Police said the search for a man last seen swimming in Beaver Lake will resume early Wednesday morning.
25-year-old Benjamin Hodgson of North Syracuse and a friend rented a canoe at Beaver Lake Park in Baldwinsville Tuesday afternoon. Police say Hodgson had been swimming alongside the canoe and his friend lost track of him. Hodgson was reported missing around 2:30 in the afternoon.
Police helicopters and rescue divers searched the area around where Hodgson was last seen while several of Hodgson’s friends watched from shore.
State Police called off the search for the night at around 8:30 pm.
