Rescuers search the Neversink River for the missing father and son
(Photo: Mark Lieb, Rockland Video Productions)
CUDDEBACKVILLE – Emergency services personnel Saturday scoured
the Neversink River from Cuddebackville downstream as a 46-year-old father
and his nine-year-old son were seen washed away in raging waters.
When the search was called off for the evening because of rain and rough
waters, there were no signs of the two.
Searchers from area fire departments were back on the river on Sunday
searching for signs of the two.
A man at the scene said Saturday that he was visiting with family and
friends from Queens on Saturday, spending the weekend at the Oakland Valley
Campground in Cuddebackville. He was fishing on the shore of the Neversink
River around 10 in the morning.
His friend and he noticed two boys from their group racing by on a raft
in the raging waters. The boys, ages 16 and nine, were yelling for help.
The man, who did not give his name, said both he and his friend dove into
the river to try to rescue the boys. His friend is the father of the nine-year-old.
He saved the 16-year-old, but the father and his nine-year-old son were
swept away by raging currents from the recent rains.
Water rescue teams from Orange, Sullivan and Pike counties were out with
boats and with divers. A State Police helicopter flew overhead and a drone
was deployed.
The search was to resume at 8 a.m. Sunday, said Cuddebackville Fire Chief
Christopher Wood.
