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In separate incidents, two people drown in Rappahannock River over July Fourth weekend Date published: 7/5/2005
By BILL FREEHLING Two men drowned this weekend in the Rappahannock River, Stafford County Sheriff Charles Jett said yesterday. The first accident occurred Saturday night near Spotsylvania County's Motts Run Reservoir, killing a Northern Virginia man in his early 40s, Jett said. Yesterday afternoon, a 26-year-old man living in Fredericksburg's Bragg Hill neighborhood drowned near the Falmouth Bridge, Jett said. Although the victims apparently entered the Rappahannock from the Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg side, most of the river is in Stafford. The incidents were this year's first Rappahannock drownings in the Fredericksburg area. Saturday's drowning occurred about 6 p.m. off River Road near Clore Bros. Outfitters, Jett said. The man, Michael Edward Clutter of Fairfax, was with two others but was the only one who went into the water, Jett said. Two canoeists pulled him out of the water when they saw he was in distress, tried to resuscitate him, and called for emergency help. Jett said Clutter was declared dead when he arrived at Mary Washington Hospital. Yesterday's drowning occurred in the 300 block of Riverside Drive near the bridge, Jett said. He said a Hispanic man went into the water for a swim around 12:45 p.m. and made it to a small island about 15 yards from shore. But he disappeared as he swam back toward his companions--his cousin and roommate. Those two told detectives that the victim, whose parents live in Mexico, is a nonswimmer. Rescue divers pulled the man's lifeless body from a 9-foot-deep stretch about an hour after he went in, Jett said. He didn't identify either victim yesterday, saying their next of kin had not been notified. Jett said Stafford has had as many as six or seven drownings a year in the Rappahannock in previous years. "It's been an issue every year," he said. He noted that cautionary signs--written in Spanish and English--are posted in many places along the river. But he said it's nearly impossible for deputies and police to hit every spot. Many people are accessing the river along Fredericksburg's Riverside Drive--which has created a walking path in the grassy area leading to the water, Jett said. In May and June of 2004, two Hispanic men from Manassas drowned in the river near the Falmouth Bridge. In 2003, at least three men drowned in the Rappahannock; more than 25 people were plucked out alive by rescuers. In 2001, four men drowned while swimming in the Rappahannock between Old Mill Park in the city and Falmouth Waterfront Park, just across the river from Old Mill. Three of those victims were Hispanic men. To reach BILL FREEHLING:
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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