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Autopsy Planned For Norwalk Boater Who Died In Long Island Sound

NORWALK, Conn. -- An autopsy is expected to be performed on a Norwalk man who drowned during a Memorial Day fishing trip on a canoe near Calf Pasture Beach, police said Tuesday.

Norwalk Police Lt. Paul Resnick answers questions Monday at Calf Pasture Beach.

Norwalk Police Lt. Paul Resnick answers questions Monday at Calf Pasture Beach.

Photo Credit: Eric Gendron

State Police using “sophisticated sonar equipment” found the body in about 12 feet of water overnight Monday close to where the cane sank in Long Island Sound, said Norwalk Police Lt. Paul Resnick.

“There were no visible signs of trauma on the body.” Resnick said. The body has been turned over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, he said.

Police did not release the man’s name nor do they intend to until the man's next of kin has been notified, said Resnick.

The Hour newspaper identified the man as Mauro Godinez Pineda, 40, a Norwalk resident originally from Guatemala. 

The victim was with three other men who left Norwalk's Calf Pasture Beach at 12:20 p.m. Monday, heading for Calf Pasture Island in a two-person canoe with fishing gear and a cooler containing beer, Resnick said. Two successive waves washed into the overloaded canoe, tossing the four men into the water, he said.

“The vessel designed for two has four, plus gear, so it was sitting low in the water,” Resnick said. “A wave comes by and water comes over the bow. A second wave comes by, more water comes over the bow, so it sinks. All four men go in the water, and panic ensues, and it goes downhill from there.”

The beer in the canoe had not been opened, Resnick said.

The man who died was not related to the other three individuals, Resnick said.

Numerous 911 calls were made by people who witnessed the scene. Three of the men were pulled from the water a short time later by members of the Norwalk Fire Department. Two of the three men were wearing life jackets. However, the man who died did not have a life jacket and did not know how to swim, Resnick said.

Resnick did not have details on the three men who survived the plunge into the water. They declined to go to the hospital and were released at the scene, he said. They didn’t suffer any injuries other than being in the chilly water, which had temperatures in the high 50s at the time of the accident, Resnick said.

The investigation was continuing. Police have not pressed any charges or issued tickets in connection with the boating fatality, Resnick said.

Read more about the accident here in the Daily Voice. 

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