Reality Poetry extreme-

Vt. mother evades rescuers, and 3 die
Rescuers use poles to look under rocks and in hidden pockets in the Wardsboro Brook in Wardsboro, Vt. Sunday April 13, 2008 during the search for Grace Waring, 2, who disappeared with her Mother Nicole Waring, 40, of Wolcott, Vt. and sibling Dakota, 6, Saturday. The bodies of Nicole and Dakota were found in the Wardsboro Brook, Saturday, after Nicole jumped into the water when approached by a Vermont State Trooper. Rescue agencies from throughout Vermont were actively involved in the search. (AP Photo/Jason R. Henske)

In the wee hours
of mourning
daddy embraced
baby clothes

Rescue workers search for...

Friday, April 18
JAMAICA -- A Wardsboro man who capsized his kayak in the West River Thursday afternoon is still missing after several hours of searching by authorities.
David Holcomb, 24, was kayaking on the river with Matt St. Peter when both their kayaks capsized after leaving the Jamaica State Park, according to a press release from Detective Lt. Kraig LaPorte with the State Police.

The Jamaica Fire Department responded to a report of a person in the West River north of the French Bridge on Gilfeather Road at approximately 4 p.m. Search efforts were soon initiated by the fire departments of Wardsboro, Townsend and Brattleboro and Rescue Inc.

The search efforts were concentrated on the section of the river from the location where the victim was last seen in West Townshend, according to LaPorte. At roughly 8:30 p.m., authorities suspended the search efforts on account of darkness.

State troopers continued to conduct patrols along the river area throughout the night and into the early morning, when formal search efforts will resume.

After their kayaks overturned, the two men became separated from their kayaks and began floating down the river. According to the police report, St. Peter eventually lost sight of Holcomb, whose kayak was found two miles south of the Volunteer Bridge toward Wardsboro.
St. Peter was able to work his way to the river's edge and climb out of the water with only minor injuries from contact with debris in the river. Sources at the scene said St. Peter had cuts on his chest and was offered medical assistance.

Troopers patrolling the area came across St. Peter walking along the south end of the river bank.

According to the release, neither was wearing a lifejacket during the incident, however each had one in his kayak.

silence
breath held out
sewing needles
dart off the darn water
my brow knits
I inhale
pine needle's
hot perfume
exquisite beauty
stings my eyes

your blond hair matted
half moon smile frozen
river's wake takes you
I follow
we lay on some small round rocks
breathless

Police investigating body found floating in West River
Reformer Staff

Saturday, May 3
BRATTLEBORO -- Brattleboro Police are investigating the death of a white male pulled out of the West River Friday afternoon.

The Brattleboro Fire Department's Dive Team was on scene and pulled the body out of the water, as the rain began to fall, after a preliminary investigation from the Police Department and the State's Attorney's Office.

"The body was very close to shore, in approximately 21/2 feet of water," Fire Chief Mike Bucossi said.

Two firefighters put on cold water exposure suits to retrieve the body, following directions from the Police Department and State's Attorney's office to remove him without disrupting any evidence.

Detectives placed evidence flags along the path, leading to the water, between the Veteran's Bridge and the railroad bridge, taking photos.

The man, whom police would not identify until the family was notified, was brought to the Burlington medical examiner by Ker-Westerlund & Fleming Funeral Home.

Workers at the scene refused to comment, directing all queries to Acting Police Chief Gene Wrinn.

"It's an active investigation," Wrinn said. "There are no obvious signs of foul play, but the white male is being

transported for an autopsy."

He expected to release more information Monday.
_________________

Spring’s River Revenge

Did you rumble
down the river-
tumble over the
dam,
water logged
swollen
sullen

an afternoon's lark
of picking until dark-
fiddle heads delight
then nothing went right
river's tongue snapped
saliva’s foam lapped

Did you rumble
down the river-
tumble over the
dam,
water logged
swollen
sullen

fiddle heads pressed tight
into frozen hands all night
one hundred miles North
family searched forth
upon friday’s frightening sight
you bobbed in afternoon daylight

Did you rumble
down the river-
tumble over the
dam,
water logged
swollen
sullen

white male found
keening wail went round

still the chocolate river yawns
over yellow waving lawns
~~~

Search for Missing Kayaker Suspended


Bradford, Vermont - May 2, 2008

Poor water conditions mean that authorities in Vermont and New Hampshire temporarily suspended the search a missing kayaker in the Connecticut River.

Robert Swantak, 58, of Bradford, set out Thursday to pick fiddleheads along the river's edge but he never returned. Authorities spent most of the day Friday searching the Bugbee Boat Launch in Bradford where Swantak first put in. The Bugbee launch is on the Waits River which feeds into the Connecticut. Swantak's kayak was found on the Connecticut River about four miles downstream. It was overturned with a life jacket attached to it.

"Concentrations would be with the currents that we had (Thursday), would be where the Waits River meets the Connecticut River as well as had he been able to get any distance up the Connecticut River trying to cross from the Vermont side to his destination on the New Hampshire shoreline," explained N.H. Fish & Game Lt. Todd Bogardus.

Authorities say that the river is at flood stage and is just 46 degrees. Swantak is an experienced kayaker but not a very good swimmer.

A two-vehicle head-on crash on Route 30 claimed the life of a Brattleboro woman on Saturday afternoon.
According to a report from the Vermont State Police, Melanie Long, 61, of Black Mountain Road, died when her 1993 Geo Prism collided with a 1999 Ford F-150 truck driven by Mitchel Mullen, 24, of Stickney Brook Road, Dummerston.
State police said Mullen on suffered minor bruises in the accident, which happened one-half mile north of the intersection of Route 30 and Upper Dummerston Road.
According to state police, Long's car was traveling north in the southbound lane of Route 30.
Mullen, who was traveling south in the correct lane of travel, attempted to avoid the crash by swerving into the northbound lane, state police said.
However, state police said Long swerved back into the northbound lane at the last moment and struck the F-150 head-on.
According to state police, the crash was witnessed by another motorist who had been on Route 30 at the time of the accident. Also, a number of motorists stopped and attempted to offer assistance to Long and Mullen.
Three motorists began CPR on Long, state police said, before emergency services personnel responded.
Long was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, state police said, and her body was transported to the State Medical Examimer's office in Burlington for an autopsy.



I prayed as the scanner squawked the details. Exta Emergency personnel were cancelled. I felt her leave her body. She made a clean break. She was a friend.