CUDDEBACKVILLE – The bodies of the two people who were washed away
by the raging waters of the Neversink River in Cuddebackville have been
recovered.
State Police Captain Jennifer Gottstine identified the victims as Mark
Avila, 46, and his son, nine-year-old Marcos Avila, both of Queens.
Neither was wearing a lifejacket.
Orange County Emergency Services Commissioner Brendan Casey said the recent
weather caused an unusual condition for the Neversink.
“The Neversink normally is not this deep and not moving this quick.
We have had an extraordinary amount of rain in August the rivers are running
really high and really fast so it is an unusual situation for the Neversink
to be at these levels,” he said.
Search crews from State Police and fire departments from Orange, Sullivan
and Pike counties scoured the river since they went missing on Saturday.
The 16-year-old boy was rescued by another man.
The father dove into the river when his nine-year-old son fell out of
a raft.
Gottstine said they were not out rafting for a long period of time; the
whole incident occurred within minutes.
The search involving over 25 agencies went on during the daylight hours
for the last three days and late Monday morning, both bodies were recovered
after being spotted by state forest rangers in a State Police helicopter.
