Investigators searching the waters in North Smithfield for a missing swimmer located a body Tuesday night, police said.
Members of the North Smithfield Police and Fire Departments responded at about 7 p.m. to the area of the Slatersville boat ramps to investigate.
About an hour later, the body of a deceased man was pulled from the water, police said. His name is not being released at this time pending family notification.
Eyewitness News crews at the scene said the state medical examiner’s vehicle was present.
The spot is popular for fishing. Fishermen Scott Smith and Tim Rivet said a group of six or eight teens were jumping into the water from a railroad trestle.
“He kept screaming and he said somebody else jumped in and they couldn’t find him,” said Smith.
“That cliff’s about anywhere between 12 and 14 feet high and they jumped off of that, we saw a girl jump off at the beginning and then a couple more jumped off,” added Rivet.
Rivet said he tried to warn the teens not to dive from the location – saying he was trying to keep them safe.
According to Scott, it is not uncommon for people to jump from the location when the weather gets nice.
“This is something we see a lot here because we do a lot of fishing, and we try to emphasize the importance of them not jumping off that if we see it,” he said.
Members of the Burrillville Police Department and several other local fire departments assisted at the scene.