Hartford firefighters prepare to head upriver from the North Hartland Dam to recover a body spotted floating in the Ottauquechee River on Saturday afternoon. (Eric Francis Photo)
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By Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent
NORTH HARTLAND – A pair of hikers out for a walk alongside the Quechee Gorge made an unpleasant discovery Saturday afternoon when they spotted a body floating near the edge of a marshy section of shoreline of the Ottauquechee River about halfway between the Route 4 Bridge and the North Hartland Dam.
A couple of Fish & Wildlife wardens arrived on the scene first and they were joined shortly by police from Hartford, a state trooper, and an assistant medical examiner.
From start to finish, the recovery operation took about four hours with the assistance of Hartford firefighters who travelled a mile-and-a-half upriver from the North Hartland Dam in one of their rescue boats to the body. The firefighters helped Hartford Police Sgt. Jay Pedro take photographs of the body where it was located and then transported the remains back down the river in their boat to a hearse waiting at the boat launch area by the massive flood control dam.
Sgt. Pedro said a positive identification will have to await the conclusions of an autopsy that will take place in Burlington at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Stay tuned for updates in our upcoming print and e-edition.