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Pa. teen drowns near Ripley

OBSERVER Staff Report

RIPLEY — A Waterford, Pa., man has been confirmed as the drowning victim on Thursday evening near the Ripley Beach area.

Around 6 p.m., the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, Westfield Police and numerous fire departments and first responders responded to the area for the report of a male in Lake Erie who was in distress.

An investigation into the incident revealed that four subjects had gone to the Ripley Beach area to go cliff jumping into Lake Erie. Two of the subjects, both 19-year-old males, did jump off a cliff into Lake Erie, which was very rough at the time.

As responders arrived at the scene, one of the males was located on some rocks at the bottom of a cliff. The Chautauqua County Technical rescue team with the assistance of several fire departments was able to rescue that subject. He was treated for apparently non-life threatening injuries.

The other male, Alex L. Musser, was unable to get out of the water and had already drowned when first responders arrived. His body was recovered from the waters Friday morning.

An investigation into this incident is continuing.

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