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MILFORD, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A body has been found during the search for a swimmer who went missing in a Milford, Massachusetts quarry Saturday afternoon. The incident happened less than one week after police issued a warning about the dangers of swimming there.
Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino said on Saturday they were looking for a missing swimmer but did not provide any other information. The Douglas Fire Department, which was one of several towns assisting in the search and rescue operation, said it was in Milford “for a potential drowning.”
There were dozens of first responders at the scene including police officers, fire personnel and emergency dive teams. The search was suspended Saturday night, and resumed in the morning.
On Sunday, authorities confirmed only that a body had been found. No additional details were released.
Milford quarry warning
Last Sunday, Milford police urged people to avoid the area after an 18-year-old woman fell from a rock ledge in the Shadowbrook Quarries. She survived, but was found bleeding with no memory of the fall and required a medflight to the hospital.
Tusino said the quarries “are not a safe place for recreation.”
“We continue to strongly discourage anyone from entering the property or swimming in the quarries,” he said. “The steep rock faces, unstable terrain, and limited access for emergency responders create an extremely dangerous environment where a single misstep can have life-altering consequences for civilians and responders.”
Illegal swimming spot
The area has been a popular but illegal spot for swimming for decades. Last summer, Milford police said they would be cracking down on trespassers by threatening thousands of dollars in fines.
Milford police detective Kevin O’Loughlin explained to WBZ-TV last year how easy it is for swimmers to get in trouble at the quarry.
“There’s cars in there, there’s old rusty barrels people have thrown in there, scrap metal,” he said. “There’s high ledge points so if you drop off that and you’re not a good swimmer, you’re not realizing you’re going 20-plus feet under the water.”
An 18-year-old from Rhode Island died in the quarry in 2014 after jumping off a cliff into the water and never resurfacing.
Deborah Draycott lives in the area and said hundreds of teenagers regularly swim there.
“It’s very dangerous back there. There’s falling rocks all the time, there’s cars back there. There’s even coyotes out in the woods and you don’t know when they’re going to come out,” she said. “They think it’s fun back there, it’s really not. It’s really not a fun place to be.”
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