Advertisement. Advertise with us

ONE TWIN MISSED,

FOUND IN RIVER

Drowning Accidental, Police Conclude

BCI Capt. Scott Heggelke briefs reporters this afternoon on the drowning of a 3-year-old boy near Goodyear Lake. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)

By PARKER FISH • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

Andrew Durkin, 3, was found in water 17 feet from a Susquehanna River embankment.

GOODYEAR LAKE – Three-year-old Andrew James Durkin was dressed in the same outfit as his identical brother when he went missing at his family’s seasonal house on the Susquehanna River just north of Goodyear Lake.

By the time the family realized that one of the twins was nowhere to be found, it was too late.

According to a briefing this afternoon by state police Capt. Scott Heggelke, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), a 911 call came in to Troop C headquarters in Sidney at 2:54 p.m. regarding a missing child on Bob Wilson Road, Milford Center.

Troopers, sheriff’s deputies and Milford fire and EMS crews responded, and K9 units were brought to the scene.

At 4:30 pm, the state police Underwater Recovery Team located the boy in the water 17 feet from the family’s dock. Resuscitation efforts were made on scene and Durkin was transported to Fox Hospital in Oneonta, where he was later pronounced dead.

“It’s always a horribly tragic situation when you have to deal with the death of a young child,” said Heggelke.

While there is a steep embankment leading up to the river, state police do not believe the boy fell down the embankment, citing the location where Andrew was found as evidence disproving the theory.

Heggelke closed the press conference saying that the investigation is still ongoing, but it is believed to simply be a freshwater drowning accident.

 

Posted

2 Comments

  1. “family’s seasonal house. . . . time the family realized” “Susquehanna River”
    “family’s dock” these are the quotes that jump off the newsprint. The quote “simply a freshwater drowning” would aptly be described as “unattended”. This happens very frequently across the country – fresh water, salt water, hotel pool water, bathtub water, etc. It is always horrible, tragic, and angel descriptions abound. That it is needless, all-too-commonplace, and seems to generate no learning curve is not generally the reaction of those interviewed. Only by due diligent study of the matter could one determine if the drowning numbers are exceeded by three-year-olds being killed by passenger vehicles cars – either as pedestrians or passengers. I will find out what the numbers are every year, but it does not seem to decrease.

    For those of you who know me, be assured that my prayers go out to this family. I also fervently pray that at least some people will get ticked off at me enough to remember to take all necessary precautions to prevent similar tragedies in their own personal spheres of life. I’m not posting this to be popular.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Related Articles

SCOLINOS: It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide

COLUMN VIEW FROM THE GAME It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide Editor’s Note:  Tim Mead, incoming Baseball Hall of Fame president, cited John Scolinos, baseball coach at his alma mater, Cal Poly Pomona, as a lifelong inspiration, particularly Scolinos’ famous speech “17 Inches.” Chris Sperry, who published sperrybaseballlife.com, heard Scolinos deliver a version in 1996 at the American Baseball Coaches Association in Nashville, and wrote this reminiscence in 1916 in his “Baseball Thoughts” column. By CHRIS SPERRY • from www.sperrybaseballlife.com In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching…

Sports Can Resume, Superintendents Told

CLICK HERE FOR MEMO TO SCHOOLS Sports Can Resume, Superintendents Told COOPERSTOWN – In a memo released Friday evening, county Public Health Director Heidi Bond advised local school superintendents that sports can resume as early as Monday. “Effective Feb. 1, participants in higher-risk sports may participate in individual or distanced group training and organized no/low-contact group training,” Bond wrote, “…including competitions and tournaments, if permitted by local health authorities.”…

Piper Seamon Scores 1,000th point

1,000 THANKS! Piper Seamon 5th CCS Girl To Hit High Mark The Cooperstown Central student section erupts as Piper Seamon scores her 1,000th career point in the Hawkeyes’ 57-39 win over Waterville at home last evening. Seamon becomes the fifth girl and only the 14th player in school history overall to score 1,000 points.  Inset at right, Pipershares a hug with teammate Meagan Schuermann after the game was stopped to acknowledge her achievement. Seamon will play basketball next year at Hamilton College. (Cheryl Clough/AllOTSEGO.com)  …