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Reed McWilliams, 21-Year-Old Bethel Man, Drowns In Connecticut River

Trace Meek
/
Flickr Creative Commons

A 21-year-old Bethel man drowned Tuesday evening in the Connecticut River in New Hampshire. Reed McWilliams was working at a historic site near the river as an AmeriCorps Volunteer. He went swimming with a colleague after work, and his body was found a couple hours later by rescue workers. Jordan Cuddemi is a reporter with the Valley News, a newspaper in the upper New Hampshire and Vermont Valley. She talked with KYUK about what happened Tuesday.

Cuddemi: So around 5:50 p.m. last night, a woman called 911 from the bank of the Connecticut River and reported that the man she was swimming with didn’t resurface. Authorities arrived shortly after 6 p.m., and they launched a pretty large water rescue search for, who we now know to be, Reed McWilliams. They canvassed the river for about an hour before they located his body in about eight to 10 feet of water nearest the Vermont side of the river. I think that is what we know as of right now about the drowning.

KYUK: And is it known why the drowning occurred?

Cuddemi: As of right now, it is our understanding that it is not known at this point why Reed drowned. The police officer who relayed most of his information to me last night said that that the Connecticut River is known to have significant undertows, but that is not known as of right now if that contributed to his death or drowning.

KYUK: And is this a popular swimming site, this river?

Cuddemi: I think people are known to swim in the Connecticut River. There are some nearby falls that people are known to swim at, fish at. People do swim in this river.

KYUK: And what was Reed McWilliams doing in New Hampshire?

Cuddemi: Yeah, our understanding was Reed was in the area as an AmeriCorps Volunteer and was working with the Student Conservation Association. He and about six other volunteers have been working at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, which is in Cornish, New Hampshire, which is near where the drowning occurred. And our understanding is that he wasn’t working at the time of the drowning, but that he was down enjoying a swim after his work day had concluded.

KYUK: Jordan, thank you.

Anna Rose MacArthur served as KYUK's News Director from 2015-2022.