Rafter feared dead at waterfall in Hadley

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

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State police are looking for a rafter who may have drowned in the Hudson River near Rockwell Falls on Sunday.

Troopers from the Hadley station and emergency personnel responded to a call around 4:30 p.m. Sunday about someone missing at the rapids below the falls near the Hadley-Luzerne bridge.

Witnesses said that a male in a small raft went over the falls and did not re-surface.

Area rescue teams including the state police scuba team, state police helicopter, state forest rangers and Warren County sheriffs deputies searched the immediate area without finding the rafter, troopers said. The search was later suspended due to the higher water levels from recent storms.

It is the second possible drowning in the area this weekend being investigated by state police.

Since Saturday, state police in Granville, Washington County, have been looking near the Metawee Falls swimming hole in Granville for a possible drowning victim.

Witnesses said a male subject jumped in the water and did not re-surface, resulting in a search that was later suspended due to high water.

Troopers are advising people to stay out of rain-swollen waterways. They said the searches will resume when the conditions permit.