NJ man’s body recovered from Lake Hopatcong in second weekend drowning

🔴 79-year-old man went into Lake Hopatcong

🔴 Search was suspended Saturday night

🔴 Training exercises at Lake Hopatcong on Friday

ROXBURY — A 79-year-old Morris County man is dead after he disappeared into Lake Hopatcong. 

Roxbury police got a call around 7:30 p.m. Saturday reporting that a man had gone into Lake Hopatcong, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

Numerous agencies including Roxbury police, the State Police marine unit, the Morris County Sheriff's Office, and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office responded to search the lake.

They used a submersible, divers, and a helicopter in the search.

The recovery effort was suspended Saturday night and began again Sunday. However, it was suspended again Sunday night due to water conditions and poor visibility.

On Monday morning, the 79-year-old Roxbury man's body was finally found.

Authorities said the death was not considered suspicious

Another drowning at NJ Lake

The death at Lake Hopatcong was the second at a New Jersey lake this weekend.

A 33-year-old man drowned when he had a muscle cramp at Crystal Lake in Manchester around 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Edwin Toro-Mejia, of Howell, was declared dead when authorities found his body about 90 minutes later.

Read More: Man drowns swimming across dangerous Manchester, NJ lake

The lake, which is actually not a natural lake but an aquifer, is private property and is illegal to visit.

Training exercises at Lake Hopatcong

The search on Saturday came just one day after State Police, Roxbury police, and other agencies conducted a training exercise on Lake Hopatcong.

The exercise focused on how officers should board another vessel in an emergency such as a medical emergency or domestic dispute.

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