Body recovered from Delaware River

The body of a 58-year-old woman was recovered early Sunday afternoon from the Delaware River between Westfall, Pa. and Port Jervis, N.Y.

Attempts to revive the woman were unsuccessful.

“She was pulled to shore on the New York side because that was easier in terms of EMS access,” said Westfall Fire Department Chief William Koferl. “Port Jervis Fire Department along with Westfall Fire Department and Matamoras Fire Department assisted in getting her into the boat where CPR was initiated before turning [efforts] over to Port Jervis ambulance.”

Koferl said the woman had been swimming with a man, who made it from the Pennsylvania side to the New York side safely.

“I am not sure what happened, but she had a life jacket floating in front of her,” he said. “Maybe it didn’t fit. The area she was pulled out of is probably only 4 to 6 feet deep. I would say from the time we received the call to when she was taken out of the water was 10 to 15 minutes at most.”

The victim’s name had not yet been made public at the time this article went to print and Port Jervis police had not returned a phone call seeking further information.

“We get approximately 50 dive calls a year for rescues,” Koferl said. “This was our first drowning of the season, so we had been lucky.”