STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
Crews recover body from Lamoille River in Fairfax
FAIRFAX, Vermont (Friday, July 3, 2026) — Shortly after 7:15 p.m. Thursday, crews from Colchester Technical Rescue located the body of a man in the Lamoille River in Fairfax where a swimmer had been reported missing earlier in the evening.
The body was recovered
and brought to shore. The victim will be transported to the Chief Medical
Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and
manner of death. The man’s identity will be withheld pending notification of
relatives. No one else was injured in this incident.
VSP will provide additional
information as the investigation continues.
***Initial news release, 7:15 p.m.
Thursday, July 2, 2026***
Multiple emergency crews
including the Vermont State Police are responding to a report of a missing man
in the Lamoille River in the Franklin County town of Fairfax.
The incident was
reported at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 2, near Cleary Road off Vermont Route
104. Preliminary reports indicated a man and a child were swimming in the river
when the man began to struggle in the water. A neighbor launched a kayak and
helped the child to shore, but the man did not resurface.
A search is underway on the river and includes the Vermont
State Police, Colchester Technical Rescue, Milton Police Department, Johnson
Fire Department, Fairfax Fire Department, Fairfax Rescue, and game wardens from
the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife.
Search crews plan to remain on scene as long as conditions
permit Thursday night.
No further information is currently available. VSP will
provide updates as the search continues.
The Vermont State Police has responded to three suspected
drowning incidents in the past 24 hours. VSP reminds the public that state
waterways are running high and have strong currents following recent
thunderstorms and rainy weather. People should be mindful of conditions and
take precautions before entering any body of water, including checking water
levels, flow rates, weather forecasts and the potential for underwater
obstacles; using a buddy system; and always swimming sober.
For more information about swimming safely in natural
environments, see this
online American Red Cross resource.
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