(6:00p July 24, 2023): The 20-year-old woman who drowned on Lake Ontario over the weekend has been identified.
According to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, 20-year-old Deanna R Melvin of Rochester, formerly from Greensboro, North Carolina, died Saturday afternoon in the area of Chimney Bluffs.
(12:00p July 23, 2023): One person is dead after drowning in Lake Ontario, Saturday.
According to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, they received the call for two persons struggling in the water just after 2:00p in the area of Chimney Bluffs State Park in the Town of Huron.
When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, a 28-year-old man had been pulled to shore by bystanders using a life jacket; however, a 20-year-old woman had gone underwater. Several people attempted to find the woman but to no avail.
The Sheriff’s Office, along with State Troopers and the US Coast Guard, was eventually able to find her body under the water.
The man was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital for precautionary checks and was later released.
The sheriff’s office conducted an investigation that revealed six people from the Rochester area had rented a pontoon boat which they anchored in the Chimney Bluffs area. It is believed that the man and woman had minimal swimming experience. This coupled with the waves on the lake is considered to have contributed to the drowning.
The United States Coast Guard conducted an inspection of the rented pontoon boat and concluded that all safety requirements were met on the boat.
Names are being withheld until all the family members of the 20-year-old woman can be notified.
