Authorities in Old Lyme, Connecticut, discovered the body of one of the two men who had been missing since a boat carrying nine individuals crashed into a jetty along the Connecticut shoreline. State environmental conservation police officers found the body in the mouth of the Connecticut River between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, about a quarter-mile from the crash site, as reported by Police Capt. Keith Williams. The man’s identity is being withheld until his family has been notified. Another individual, Christopher Hallahan, 34, of Westbrook, Connecticut, died in the crash, and six others were injured and taken to a hospital. The search for the second missing man continued on Friday, with plans to resume on Saturday if he is not located.
The incident occurred shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday when authorities responded to a 31-foot motorboat that was found half submerged and significantly damaged near an Old Saybrook marina where the river meets Long Island Sound. The boat had collided with a jetty at the river mouth, with the cause of the crash under investigation. The passengers were returning from a trip to Block Island, Rhode Island, and none of them were wearing life jackets, according to police. The search efforts have involved divers, drones, aircraft, sonar, and remote-operated underwater vehicles equipped with cameras.
This accident took place in the vicinity of another boat crash on Labor Day 2023, which resulted in four individuals being hospitalized. Despite these incidents, environmental conservation police have disputed claims that the location is particularly dangerous.
