Massachusetts Daily Collegian

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A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Update: Body found in Puffer’s Pond Friday evening

A man’s body was recovered
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(Collegian file photo)

A man’s body was recovered from Puffer’s Pond in Amherst at 5:43 p.m. on Friday after a bystander called emergency responders at 1:40 p.m. when he thought he saw a swimmer drowning in the pond.

Mary Carey, communications director of the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, said the body had been submerged for several hours and “no foul play is suspected.”

Amherst Police Captain Jennifer Gundersen said nine divers from the Massachusetts State Police, Northfield Dive and Recovery, South Hadley Fire District 1 and Sunderland were searching for the body, according to MassLive.

In a Daily Hampshire Gazette article, State Street was closed by 2 p.m. and APD “declared the scene an active crime scene and cleared bystanders from the beach” before closing the opposite beach on Mill Street.

On the scene last night were law enforcement officials from Massachusetts State Police, APD and the University of Massachusetts police. Paramedics, firefighters and Amherst Police Detective Yvonne Feliciano were also there.

The APD posted a tweet at 3:13 p.m. on Friday that reads: “The Amherst Police Department along with the Amherst Fire Department, and Regional Dive Team are currently searching the area of Puffer’s Pond in North Amherst for a missing adult swimmer currently. More information regarding this matter to follow.”

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Abigail Charpentier can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @abigailcharp.

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  • J

    john aimoMay 5, 2018 at 3:05 pm

    Now this and recently a knife stabbing ,which most likely was terrorism as it seems to be for one related to Islam(despite how unpc it is, most terrorism is islamnic) and because it matches identically other terrorist attacks involving knives by muslims who scream out sayings in arabic.

    What’s going to happen next? Who knows in our wonderful safe community.

    Reply