Ulster County corrections sergeant dies in dive training exercise at Ashokan Reservoir

[noj3333]

KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A sergeant with the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office died Thursday while he was involved in a training exercise at the Ashokan Reservoir, county Sheriff Paul J. VanBlarcum said.

Sgt. Kerry Winters, 51, a 30-year veteran of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division, died while participating in an “In-Water Rescue Team dive training operation,” the sheriff said in a press release.

Van Blarcum added that the investigation is ongoing and is in a preliminary stage.

“We are all devastated at the loss of Kerry Winters, Corrections Sergeant from the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department,” Ulster County Executive Michael Hein said in a prepared statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of unspeakable grief. The entire Ulster County family mourns this profound loss of an individual dedicated to public safety and helping others.”

The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Olive Fire Department, Olive First Aid, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the New York City Police Department Environmental Conservation Police. Further, The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Kingston Fire Department and Kingston Police.


Ulster County corrections sergeant dies in dive training exercise at Ashokan Reservoir

 

[Moby Dick]

Does anybody have any information on this accident?

 

[boulderjohn]

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/...puty-sheriff-drowns-during-training/90859048/

It doesn't say much more than he died during a training exercise at the Ashokan Reservoir. That reservoir is very large in area, but it is not very deep. Very little recreational activity is allowed on it--pretty much just fishing from a rowboat.

 

[blackvans1234]

Sad, this is near my hometown - Dutchess County.

 

[boulderjohn]

Thuis story has a lot more information:
Sergeant who died in Ashokan Reservoir dive accident recalled as ‘big, strong guy’ and family man

I have seen nothing so far that indicates a problem on the dive other than his being found unconscious. I would not want to leap to a conclusion, but that would usually indicate a medical problem. The article said they are awaiting results of medical tests.

 

[scagrotto]

That reservoir is very large in area, but it is not very deep.

Of course you don't need to have deep water to have problems, but the Ashokan has a maximum depth of 180' according to the NY Department of Conservation. At about 100 years old there may still be standing trees on the bottom, and I'm pretty sure that the various buildings that were in the towns that were flooded weren't knocked down during the construction of the reservoir. The oldest covered bridge in NY and a waterfall were also flooded.

I've heard that it's an interesting place to dive, but

Very little recreational activity is allowed on it--pretty much just fishing from a rowboat.

That's it, as far as on or in water activities are concerned. Some of the New York City reservoirs now allow canoeing or kayaking, and many (most or even all?) now allow recreational access to some of the surrounding lands, but the only way to get on to the Ashokan is to get a fishing license and some gear and have a row boat steam cleaned and inspected. Of course it's okay for me to paddle my kayak down the Esopus Creek, which is what was dammed to form the reservoir, right up to the magically protective property boundary where the creek flows into NYC property. Beyond that point I'm apparently a threat to the quality of the drinking water.

Here's a link to another article that has a bit more information, a headline suggesting that the Sheriff is expecting that some medical issue is responsible:
Sheriff: Medical issue likely caused sergeant's death during training exercise

 

[boulderjohn]

Of course you don't need to have deep water to have problems, but the Ashokan has a maximum depth of 180' according to the NY Department of Conservation. At about 100 years old there may still be standing trees on the bottom, and I'm pretty sure that the various buildings that were in the towns that were flooded weren't knocked down during the construction of the reservoir.

I assume they are right about the depth, but I wonder where that is. Probably by the dam.

I am from the area myself. The Ashokan Reservoir is a giant U-shaped body of water. My childhood home was in the very inside bottom of that U. I used to walk down the railroad tracks to a nearby cove to go swimming--illegally, of course. When I was very young, there were several years of extreme drought, and most of the upper basin--where the dam is--was dry. It was not at all deep. We walked the area a number of times, walking past the foundations of the houses that were there before the area was flooded. Those foundations were very low, only a few stones higher than the surrounding ground. We scavanged for things like rusted horsehoes in the ruins. There were no trees or even stumps to be seen.

The houses were burned before the flooding. My grandmother told me they were emptying their house, taking one horse-pulled wagon away at a time. As they returned for the last load, their most valuable items, they saw the smoke--the house was already burning. Their house was not, however, in the area that flooded, and we visited its foundation several times in my youth. We had to be careful walking in the woods because the wells had not been filled in, and many were hidden by vegetation.

The people who were banished from their home towns when the reservoir was build had an annual reunion every summer for decades. They used the word "banished" in bittersweet speeches in those gatherings. My family did most of the setup for them, so I spent many hours setting up the public address system, hauling chairs and tables, etc. The truly banished were by then getting elderly, and the reunions ended perhaps 50 years ago.

Building the reservoir brought workers to the area. One of them, a machinist, married a local woman and stayed. Those were my grandparents.

 

[rjack321]

During construction of most reservoirs they remove trees and buildings and such. They can break loose and clog up the dam if left behind. And timber is worth money. Not to say they were thorough when they built it, but you rarely find a "town" or anything substantive.

 

[Moby Dick]

KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A sergeant with the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office died Thursday while he was involved in a training exercise at the Ashokan Reservoir, county Sheriff Paul J. VanBlarcum said.

Sgt. Kerry Winters, 51, a 30-year veteran of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division, died while participating in an “In-Water Rescue Team dive training operation,” the sheriff said in a press release.

Van Blarcum added that the investigation is ongoing and is in a preliminary stage.

“We are all devastated at the loss of Kerry Winters, Corrections Sergeant from the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department,” Ulster County Executive Michael Hein said in a prepared statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of unspeakable grief. The entire Ulster County family mourns this profound loss of an individual dedicated to public safety and helping others.”

The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Olive Fire Department, Olive First Aid, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the New York City Police Department Environmental Conservation Police. Further, The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Kingston Fire Department and Kingston Police.


Ulster County corrections sergeant dies in dive training exercise at Ashokan Reservoir

Is there any new information on this accident?

 

[Unbent]

As with nearly all underwater deaths the official cause of death was drowning (as per info from closely related). With an underlining heart condition.