Editor’s note: Please see related story, “Man drowns in river at Milford Beach, in a season without lifeguards.”
To the Editor:
On Father’s Day, we chose to visit the Poconos Environmental Educational Center on Sunday, June 21. We took a hike in the woods and it had some breathtaking panoramic views of the landscape and waterfalls.
After the trail walk, we decided to go for a swim at Milford Beach. We arrived at Milford Beach, at around 3 p.m. We paid $10 to park our car and walked to the beach area. After being at the beach for 15 minutes, we saw people who had gathered next to the water and looked in one direction. We too, joined the crowd to find out what had happened.
A young man was drowning in the river. Three volunteers who knew the victim tried frantically to find him, pull him out of the water and revive him. However, due to the dangerous currents, there was no sign of him and you only heard the screams and the cries of the young man’s relatives to these brave volunteers, to keep searching for him. These young volunteers put their life in harm’s way, in trying desperately to find their relative or friend.
This beach advertises lifeguards and rangers will be present. What I saw to be surprising was that there was no lifeguards present at the beach. Also the beach did not have safety lines (rope and floats connected) that are commonly used together to provide a visual divider between the shallow and deep ends of the water. Finally, it required a private individual to call 911, to alert the Park Ranger and fire department about the emergency. Unfortunately, the Park Ranger and fire department arrived 15 minutes later, too late to save the young man. Had any of these preventative safety measures, been in place (lifeguard and safety lines), this young man’s death could have been prevented.
I hope the town takes positive steps to address these safety issues.
Edwin Valles