Teenager drowns in Manchester’s Sarco Lake
(Image: Google Maps)
A teenage girl drowned while swimming in a lake at an old mining quarry in Manchester, authorities said.
Manchester police say it happened around 2:30 p.m. yesterday when the 17-year-old went underwater while swimming with two friends at Sarco Lake, located within the restricted Heritage Minerals tract of land south of Routes 37 and 70.
“When Manchester Police Officers arrived, they learned that a seventeen year old female from Manchester Township was last seen by friends swimming in an area located in close proximity to the shoreline,” said Al Della Fave, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman, in a release.
Rescue crews, including the Manchester Volunteer Fire Department, Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department, Manchester Township Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police Aviation Unit, scoured the area, Della Fave said.
The Manchester Volunteer Fire Department Scuba Unit and the township police divers located the teenager 30 feet under water, the spokesman said.
The Manchester First Aid Squad and MONOC paramedics administered life saving measures and transported the victim to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where she was later pronounced dead at about 4:20 p.m, according to Della Fave.
Investigators haven’t released the girl’s name.
—————————————————————
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
