SOMERSET – Chief Jamison Barros regrets to report that, as the result of a coordinated search involving multiple public-safety agencies, the body of a man who was reported missing was recovered from the Taunton River on Sunday.
The Somerset Fire Department received information on Saturday that a man had taken a dinghy onto the river from the Somerset Yacht Club on Gay Street at about 5 p.m. on Friday, but had not returned.
Public-safety agencies conducted a side-scan sonar operation on Sunday, led by the Massachusetts State Police and Massachusetts Environmental Police, supported by the Somerset Fire Department, Massachusetts State Police Dive Team and Massachusetts State Police Air Wing.
On Sunday morning the State Police Air Wing identified an area of interest about one-quarter-mile south of Pratt Avenue. Searchers recovered the man’s body at about 11 a.m.
Further details will not be released at this time, pending the determination of the cause of the death, and a positive identification from the Office of the Medical Examiner.