By Jacob Deemer
COOKSBURG, Pa. (EYT) – Authorities have found the body of a person who reportedly drowned near Cook Forest State Park on Sunday afternoon.
According to a Clarion County 9-1-1 dispatcher, the call came in around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 13, and emergency workers were dispatched to the area of the State Route 36 bridge over the Clarion River in Cooksburg, Clarion County.
DCNR Park Rangers, as well as crews from Clarion Fire & Hose Company No. 1, Emlenton Fire Department, and Farmington Township Volunteer Fire Company, canvassed the area for the individual overnight and into the morning, the dispatcher said.
Water rescue teams scoured several miles of the river on Sunday and again on Monday morning when the search resumed.
Around 8:21 a.m. on Monday, August 14, search crews discovered a body near Hemlock Island in the Clarion River, just east of Gravel Lick Road.
Clarion County Coroner Dan Shingledecker confirmed to exploreClarion.com that a body has been found. He was dispatched to the scene around 8:49 a.m.
No further information on the individual is available at this time.
According to the USGS, the depth of the Clarion River at Cooksburg was 2.65 feet at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday but was reported to be “rising rapidly.” On Sunday at 1:45 p.m. that number reached 5.78 feet. By Monday at 7:00 a.m. As of Monday at 8:00 a.m., the depth was 4.01 feet.
A representative with the Pa. DCNR declined to comment on the incident.
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