Body found in Mohawk River Thursday identified as missing man Gary Clemons

PHOTOGRAPHER: Photo Provided

A look at Gary Clemons, the 63-year-old man found dead in the Mohawk River in Niskayuna Thursday night.

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NISKAYUNA — The body found in the Mohawk River Thursday night has been identified as 63-year-old Gary Clemons, missing since Monday, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.

A number of local police and fire agencies responded to a call of a possible human body floating in the Mohawk River at 6:36 p.m. Thursday, and a body was later recovered near Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory.

An autopsy is pending, but there does not appear to be any foul play, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office Friday afternoon.

The Sheriff’s Office received a report of a missing person for Gary Clemons Wednesday — he was last seen Monday, May 22. Clemons’ vehicle was located unoccupied Thursday in the area of Mohawk River where his boat is docked at the Schenectady Yacht Club.

Pat Rotchford, a fisherman from Colonie, posted on Facebook that he and his son discovered the body Thursday night while out on the Mohawk River.

Rotchford declined to comment for this article. However, in comments on the post, Rotchford said he was just trolling along on his boat when he saw something floating. He said he did not see the face of the person in the water.

The body found Thursday was the fourth body found locally in the Mohawk River in the past four months. In late February, the body of missing Schenectady teen Samantha Humphrey was found in the river in Schenectady. In early April, the body of missing Canajoharie man, Kevin White, was found in the near Lions Park in Niskayuna. Three weeks later, missing Scotia man, Ryan Liszewski, was found in near Alplaus. He was found about a month before Clemons was Thursday.

Contact reporter Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @_natasha_7.