Mom drowns trying to rescue son at New Hampshire’s Franconia Falls

A Massachusetts woman died from drowning Tuesday while trying to rescue her son who was being pulled by the current of Franconia Falls, a waterfall at White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.

At the same time, the father rescued another son who had jumped into the water and became trapped by boulders and could not get back to the riverbank.

The woman was identified Wednesday as Melissa Bagley of Lynn, Mass.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon around 4 p.m., the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said.

“One of the minor children slipped and fell into one of the pools at the falls,” Sgt. Heidi Murphy said in a news release. “He could not get out of the pool as it was a fast, circulating current. The mother jumped into the river to help her child and began to immediately have trouble.”

Two other children, including an 18-year-old brother, jumped into the water to help their 10-year-old brother and 44-year-old mother, according to WCVB.

“They were able to get their brother out of the water, but in doing so, another brother became lodged in the boulders and could not escape,” Murphy said.

The father reached the mother, who was now on a rock and began performing CPR, but she could not be revived.

He made his way to his 18-year-old son, who was stuck in some boulders, and pulled him back to safety. He then returned to his wife’s location to wait for rescue crews.

When rescue crews arrived, two people who had sustained non-life-threatening injuries were transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance for further evaluation and treatment.

“This is an ongoing investigation, but alcohol and drugs do not appear to be a factor,” New Hampshire State Police said in a statement Wednesday.

With News Wire Services