Authorities are investigating an apparent Fourth of July drowning in Morris Township.
The deceased was 18-year-old Hillario Manuel Mendez-Vincente of Morristown, said Meghan Knab, spokesperson for the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
At 6:28 pm on Saturday, a witness called 911 to report seeing an unidentified adult male enter Jones Pond and “struggle to swim,” she said.
A search located the victim submerged in the water. No foul play is suspected. The Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy, Knab said. She said the matter is under investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office and Township police.
A message left with Township police on Sunday was not immediately returned.
Two young men entered Jones Woods with the victim, and panicked, running out yelling “Call 911,” and saying their friend was missing and they couldn’t find him, according to Morris Township Mayor Donna Guariglia. She said she did not know how the victim entered the water, on what was a sweltering day.
Swimming is prohibited in the pond and police frequently remove a rope swing there, she said.
“It’s just a horrible thing,” the mayor said of the incident.
Divers from the Parsippany police and an underwater drone from the Morris County Sheriff’s Offices are believed to have assisted in the search.
Jones Woods spans just over 100 acres and includes a reservoir. Morris Township owns 38 acres, with the remaining portions owned by Villa Walsh Academy, the Southeast Morris County Municipal Utilities Authorities and the Morris County Park Commission, according to the Burnham Park Association.
The nonprofit association successfully fought proposed development of the Township section back in the 1980s and ’90s, and volunteers now maintain hiking trails there. Jones Pond is spring-fed and fairly deep, with snakes, according to the association.
This story has been updated with the victim’s identity and details about Jones Woods.
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