Swim with family members turns deadly for 56-year-old Massachusetts man

A family is mourning the loss of a Massachusetts man who died while going out for a swim on Sunday.

According to Dave Procopio of Massachusetts State Police, just after 4:30 p.m., the Winchester Police and Fire Departments, the Stoneham Fire Department, and Massachusetts State Police responded to a report of a possible drowning of an adult male in Upper Mystic Lake off Sandy Beach in Winchester. Local Officers and Firefighters along with the State Police Dive Team and State Police Air Wing responded to the scene.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., Stoneham Fire Department divers located the victim and removed him from the lake. He was transported by a Winchester Fire ambulance to Winchester Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. He was identified as Jose Garcia, 56, of Chelsea.

An investigation by State Police Detectives assigned to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the State Police Crime Scene Services Section, determined that Garcia was swimming at the lake with family members. About an hour after their arrival, another beachgoer observed Garcia in distress in the water, approximately 35 feet off the shore, past the designated swimming area. The witness yelled for help and called 911.

No foul play is suspected.