Missing MA Swimmer Presumed Dead, Search To Continue At Lake

HOPKINTON, MA — Local police and fire departments resumed a search Saturday morning for a missing swimmer at Lake Maspenock, but the effort is now considered a "recovery operation."

The 22-year-old man went missing while swimming near Sandy Beach around 8 p.m. Friday in the midst of severe thunderstorms that walloped the region. The missing man and a friend had ventured farther into the lake than the designated swimming zone, Hopkinton police said. The friend called 911 when the 22-year-old did not return to the beach.

Divers from the Massachusetts Fire District 14 Technical Rescue Team — which includes members from 23 local fire departments — searched for the man, while Hopkinton firefighters used sonar-equipped rescue boats to assist. Natick and Westborough Fire Department boats were also used.

Firefighters stopped searching around midnight as thunderstorms continued.

"We faced a number of obstacles during the search, including limited visibility and thick weeds in the lake. We decided around midnight to halt the recovery effort and will return in the morning when conditions are safer,"Interim Hopkinton Fire Chief Gary Daugherty said in a news release.

The search resumed around 7 a.m. Saturday. The swimmer's family was notified about the presumed death.