Massachusetts State Police, Environmental Police, recover body of missing 51-year-old man

The Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Environmental Police, and local public safety agencies found a jet-skier who was missing following a collision with a boat on the Connecticut River in Northampton.

According to Dave Procopio of Massachusetts State Police, the incident occurred Sunday roughly around 7:00 PM. Two occupants of the boat were rescued by Environmental Police Officers and transported by boat to the state boat ramp along Route 5. They were transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Just before 1:00 p.m. today, Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers operating an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle during the search for 51-year-old Carlos Lopez observed an area of interest in the Connecticut River. Troopers from the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Team dove onto the area observed by the ROV and located Lopez’s body.

Divers recovered the decedent. The area of the recovery was a short distance from the site on the river in Easthampton where Lopez was involved in a collision with a boat on Sunday evening. The recovery was made at a depth of approximately 15 feet, an estimated 150 feet from shore.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner assumed custody of the decedent. The collision remains under investigation by the State Police Detective Unit for Hampshire/Franklin Counties.