HIGH FALLS – A hamlet of Wallkill youth drowned in the Rondout Creek in High Falls on Tuesday, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies were called to the area of 18 Bruceville Road at around 11:43 a.m. for a water emergency. People at the scene told them that the teen had been under water for several minutes.
Deputies tried to locate the swimmer, Christopher Pelaez, 17, before the in-water rescue team arrived.
Members of Ulster Hose and deputies recovered his body about 40 minutes after the original 911 call. He was transported to the HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley Hospital Broadway Campus in Kingston where he was pronounced dead.
The Ulster Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by State Police, the Ulster County Department of Emergency Services, Rosendale Police Department, Ulster Hose Fire Department Search and Rescue and High Falls Fire Department.
