By Jacob Deemer
COOKSBURG, Pa. (EYT) – The Clarion County Coroner has identified a man who drowned near Cook Forest State Park on Sunday afternoon.
(Pictured above: Clarion Fire & Hose Co. No. 1 Water Rescue Team. Photo courtesy Melanie Shingledecker Parker.)
According to coroner Dan Shingledecker told exploreClarion.com the victim has been identified as 53-year-old David L. Holt, of Akron, Ohio.
Holt, who was reportedly tubing on the river, was discovered by search crews around 8:21 a.m. on Monday, August 14, in the Clarion River near Hemlock Island, just east of Gravel Lick Road.
Holt was pronounced dead at 9:31 a.m. by Shingledecker.
According to Shingledecker, Holt was initially tubing with a group of people, but by the time of his death, he was with one person. That person’s name was not released.
There is no indication of alcohol being involved in the incident, Shingledecker said.
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 Holt’s body near Hemlock Island.
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.
