Identity of Horn Pond Drowning Victim Released

The identity of the man who drowned after a canoe tipped over in Horn Pond last week has been released.

 As reported on Woburn Patch, on April 15 emergency personnel, including divers from Woburn and Stoneham, responded to a report of a man under the water in Horn Pond. According to reports one of the two men in the canoe was able to swim to shore but the second was reported to be lost in the water.

Emergency responders were not able to locate the man that night and stopped the search as dark approached. Shortly after resuming the search on April 16 responders found the body of the boater a little past 9 a.m.

According to a report from the Woburn Police Department, the victim is Pedro Pereira of 138 Kate Lane, Tolland, CT. Police do not have his exact age but Woburn Police Chief Robert J. Ferullo Jr. said he was in his 30s.

According to the police report at 6:05 p.m. police responded to Horn Pond after hearing a canoe had overturned with two males, who had been fishing, inside. According to the report, one male, who was later identified by police, was able to swim towards the shore and officers were able to pull him out of the water when he was about 30 yards from land.

Police and fire department personnel then conducted a search, with two divers from Woburn Fire Department and four from Stoneham Fire Department, of Pereira. They were ultimately unsuccessful in the rescue attempt.

One witness on scene said she was walking around Horn Pond when she observed a capsized canoe and two individuals treading water one-third of the way off shore. She said the two men tried to flip the canoe upright but were unsuccessful. One man began to swim to shore but the other, later identified as Pereira, appeared to struggle. The witness said it appeared he did not know how to swim. She said that Pereira did not make it ten or twenty yards to shore before he went under.

Other accounts of witnesses corroborate this account.

Woburn Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.