WARREN, Vt. (WCAX) – Another drowning in a Vermont river– the second in a week.
Crews temporarily suspended the search for a missing swimmer at Warren Falls on Monday, pointing to the rain and the fast-moving water in the Mad River there.
Police say Tuan Baldino, 35, of New Jersey was at the swimming hole with friends on Saturday when he slipped while trying to cross the river.
“The pool that he fell into was essentially white water, then there was a short fall, a waterfall into another pool,” Vt. State Police Capt. Matt Daley said.
Police say Baldino never resurfaced.
Multiple rescue crews spent Saturday and Sunday working on the recovery mission but suspended the search Monday because of the fast-moving water, shutting down the popular summer spot.
“With the amount of water that’s going, flowing down the river, so it’s just not safe for us to put a diver in the water,” Daley said.
Rivers and swimming holes are popular places for Vermonters and visitors in the summer.
We ran into these teens on the trails.
“We just searched the place; we thought we could just swim here. We didn’t know it was going to be closed or anything,” said Jonathan Hight of Massachusetts.
Daley warns that due to recent rain and flooding, some spots you think you know might have changed.
“The swimming hole that people feel comfortable with for 20 years, they don’t know what’s in there,” he said. “I would caution anybody from going into those swimming holes at any point probably this summer. It’s just not a great idea till the water starts to recede.”
Daley says they will reevaluate and come back to resume the search when conditions improve.