The name of the New Hampshire man who died after he fell into the Merrimack River on Saturday night following a medical emergency on a boat has been released.
Robert Levesque was identified as the 59-year-old from Plaistow, New Hampshire, who was on a boat when he fell into the river at Marianna’s Marina, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said.
The marina is located at 72 Coffin Ave. in Haverhill, the office said.
“The first person that wanted to be my friend when I moved to Lawrence, has drown[ed],” Jeffrey Roberts wrote on Facebook. “He took me in and we became family … Never thought anything would take you down.”
Law enforcement arrived around 11:47 p.m. on Aug. 12, and got the man onto a dock, the district attorney’s office said. Levesque was taken to Merrimack Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the office stated.
Witnesses told police they saw the New Hampshire man have a medical emergency while on the boat, which they said caused him to fall into the water, police said.
Officials believe the man may have drowned after falling into the water, but it’s unclear if the apparent medical incident contributed to his death. Police expect an autopsy to shed more light on the cause. However, foul play was not suspected, the district attorney’s office stated.
The incident was being investigated by the Essex County State Police Detective Unit and Haverhill Police Department, the district attorney’s office said.
