Cauley's body was discovered 200 feet from shore in about 35 feet of water.
Larry Cauley prepares to perform in the American International College Garret Players production of "Much Ado About Will" in April.Updates a story posted Monday at 2:15 p.m.
SOUTHWICK – The body of 22-year-old Larry Cauley, of Suffield, Conn., was pulled from 35 feet of water in Congamond Lakes Middle Pond at about 12:30 p.m. Monday, nearly 36 hours after he jumped or fell from a pontoon boat.
Southwick Police Chief Mark J. Krynicki said Cauley's body was found by state and local divers after teams resumed their search at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Officials from Southwick, state and environmental police suspended their search at 5:30 p.m. Sunday after scouring the water since receiving the call at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
“We conducted a grid search, used an underwater camera and had about a dozen personnel out there between all three groups,” Krynicki said. “He was located a short distance from where he was reported as going into the water.”
Cauley’s body was discovered 200 feet from shore in about 35 feet of water, he said, adding that there are some pockets of water on the lakes that are as deep as 50 to 55 feet.
Hampering the search and recovery, the chief said, was the condition of the water, causing poor visibility.
“Visibility was just 10 feet - it’s just the nature of the water’s composition,” Krynicki noted.
Cauley was a member of the 13-person Hill family, who had a new house built for them by the ABC-TV show “Extreme Home Makeover” in June 2009. The episode featuring the family aired in October of that year.
The chief said there were nine people on the pontoon boat when Cauley either jumped or fell from it. Three people jumped in after him with a life preserver, but were unable to locate him because of the dark.
“They did attempt to search for him, but they just couldn’t see anything.”
Police responded to the 911 call at 12:56 a.m., which was placed by a neighbor on shore who heard the cries for help. That neighbor, Jack Ferraro, of 86 Berkshire Ave., also volunteered the use of his boat to rescue personnel when they arrived at the scene.
“I was out on my deck when he went into the water,” Ferraro said Sunday afternoon.
Krynicki, who spoke briefly with the family Monday morning, said the case remains under investigation by the state police Crime Prevention and Control Unit out of the office of the Hampden County District Attorney.
“The investigation is just to tie up loose ends and make sure (the death) was accidental,” he said.
The office of the state medical examiner is conducting an autopsy and should have results from toxicology tests in about four to six weeks, Krynicki said.
In the wake of this incident, the chief said police are reminding boaters to be responsible when they are on the water and use common sense.
The last reported drowning at Congamond Lakes was in August 2000, when an 18-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., died in South Pond, the second largest Congamond pond. Prior to that, a 33-year-old West Suffield, Conn., man died after drowning in Middle Pond in October 1994.
On Sunday, Southwick police closed access to the lakes to boaters at the public boat launch on Point Grove Road, while boaters from private docks on their property were advised to stay clear of the search area. The lakes remained closed Monday while the search continued.
Southwick residents were advised by the town’s automated emergency phone system on Sunday and Monday to stay off the lakes while authorities continued their search for the body.
