FARMINGTON, Conn. (AP) — The bodies of two missing teenagers who authorities believe went swimming in the swollen Farmington River were discovered on Monday, roughly a mile-and-a-half from where they were last seen on July 15.
Capt. Keith Williams of the state’s Environmental Conservation Police said first responders were “going on a hunch” and focused their search downstream, given the current high water levels caused by recent heavy rains. They discovered the bodies of 15-year-old Lucas Brewer and 17-year-old Anthony Nagore on Monday afternoon near the Farmington and Burlington town line.
Williams said the teens’ deaths should be a warning to others.
“Please stay off the water,” he said during an evening briefing in Farmington. “The river level is very dangerous. It’s going to continue to rise throughout the next couple of days so conditions are going to get even worse.”
Dangerous conditions, including strong currents and high water levels, forced first responders to suspend their search on Saturday. Williams said the water level is about six or seven times higher than normal for this time of year.
Police said Brewer, of Plainville, and Nagore, who was visiting family in Plainville, went swimming shortly after 1 p.m. last Thursday in the river in Avon, despite a local resident’s warning to them about dangerous conditions. Authorities said they found one of the teens’ vehicles near the swimming site, as well as their cellphones and some of their clothing.
Their families reported them missing around 5 p.m. Thursday when they failed to return home, and search efforts began that evening.
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