.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
The bodies of the two men missing since falling into Johnson's Pond have been recovered. More information to follow.
Although the Salisbury Fire Department worked diligently last night trying to recover the bodies of two men that fell into Johnson Pond, visibility was zero once it became dark so they had to call off their search.
This morning they returned with the Dive Team and it only took a couple of hours for them to find and recover the two men that had disappeared. I spoke with the Cousin who was there last night when the two men fell in and he said his back was turned to them when his Cousin and the other man fell in.
One man actually fell in and the other went to help him. The two then disappeared. He said he saw one body floating over to the area in which they did recover both bodies. A third man went in to help but found himself in a difficult way so the 4th man threw out his fishing line and actually reeled him back to safety.
It's a sad day to lose two grown men in a drowning accident as simple as this. My hope is that the City will find a way to stop anyone from fishing in that area as there is quite a bit of people who fish that dam and stand on top of it the whole time. It needs to be off limits.
Public Works was over at the Yard clearing out trees, (I don't exactly understand why) from their property onto the Pond. These were beautiful mature trees and now they're gone. I'm sure it was for recovery purposes but that, (to me) was an unnecessary extreme.
My hat is tipped to the Salisbury Fire Department as nothing was going to stop them from recovering these two bodies. When the water is that dark, it is extremely difficult to do what they just did. My Wife did that for years with the Salisbury Dive Team and there's a ton of training that goes on in such dark waters to make such an attempt a success.
GO HERE to see more photos from Wayne Barrall.
15 comments:
joe, there is no mention of this on the daily times site. ????????. Have they gone under already? This is the only newspaper in Salisbury and it is inexcusable for them not to report quickly and responsibly on the biggest news of the memorial day weekend. What a joke. The editors over there are horrible, absolutely horrible.
Where exactly is this? I am new to the area...thanks.
I fish this regularly when the times are right. There is a wide concrete shelf that runs along the bottom of the dam that can be ankle deep to knee deep depending on the tide. Actually very safe to stand and walk. Only tricky part is if you walk across the middle area where the sluice(sp?) can be open letting a flow of water through. The turbulence where the water streams over can be high. The hydraulics there may have been what happened, just a guess. I would hate to see this place put off limits because of this tragic event.
A good bit of this pond is right off Deer Head Hospital. I had no idea the pond was that dangerous.
Best they do some posting about being careful and exactly what to be careful of.
A. Goetz
Anon 10
Johnsons Pond is over in North Salisbury,in the Deers Head area-if you have ever drove down Isabella St in West Salisbury,you have driven by it.It stretches from the far North prong of Wicomico River,upwards,and it peters out somewhere up by the new 13 bypass section.Am I right Folks?
I believe the shelf on the north side of the spillway helps prevent the hydrolics that most dams create. This is where they were fishing. It is also pretty slippery. I believe that where the trees were removed was an area that was cleared a year or 3 ago for access to that area. It was re cleared today so NRP could get a small boat launched in there to drag if needed.
I was told the drag was a ridiculous idea because of so many telephone polls in that water as well as steal beams. It was not easy for Firefighters and the Dive Team to get around in that area because of it. A drag line would have failed.
SHARPTOWN Fire Department also had divers at Johnson Pond...don't they deserve credit for their services?
joe, great news coverage on your site. It is a shame about the two men but the important thing is when people are around water it is a good idea to know how to swim. No one should walk on the dam because the algea is very slippery. I fish there as well and I do not walk on the dam I fish from shore. Decent fishing areas in Salisbury are hard to find. Anyway keep up the good work.
Sharptown divers do deserve a kudos also. They had 3 divers respond Sunday evening to assit but operations were shut down before they could be put in the water.
It hasn't been mentioned yet that the two men who died were drunk. So obviously even if they did know how to swim, they wouldn't have been as strong because of the alcohol. Just thought you should know.
Anonymous 9:46
I truly wish when someone like you makes a comment like you have that you would put your name up. It would simply add more credibility to your statement because I asked that question to even the witnesses and they denied it. These were the two people standing there right nect to the two guys that fell in and drowned. I just think saying they were "drunk" is a strong statement, respectfully.
next, sorry.
The two friends of the dead guys told police they had been drinking. It's listed on the police report.
I don't feel comfortable giving my name because it's not even been released yet that I know of.
Drinking and being drunk are two different things, respectfully. Thank you for the reply though.
Post a Comment