Montgomery County man drowns in Potomac River on Fourth of July

A Montgomery County, Md., man drowned in the Potomac River on the Fourth of July after trying to cross from the Maryland bank to a rock island, according to a Maryland Department of Natural Resources spokesman.

The drowning victim was identified as Daniel Aldazabal Cucho, 44, of Germantown, Md., according to natural resources spokesman Gregg Bortz.

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Aldazabal Cucho and two companions were fishing on the Maryland bank when they tried to cross through the water to a rock island, Bortz wrote in an email. Aldazabal Cucho started yelling for help shortly after entering the river and slipped under the water. His two companions tried to reach him, but couldn't.

Potomac Valley Fire Co. and numerous other units were alerted to a water rescue call around 4:48 p.m. Tuesday at "The Point," which is where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers merge, according to Fire Chief Roger Otzelberger Jr. and a post on the fire company's Facebook page.

Firefighters were told there were numerous calls about the incident and at least four people were involved, according to the Facebook post. Two people made it to shore with the help of bystanders, and firefighters were told two more people were still in the water.

Potomac Valley responded with at least two boats, with one crew helping another man get out of the river. Otzelberger said he believed that man tried to assist Aldazabal Cucho and got swept downstream. Rescuers picked him up by a retaining wall along the shore, where he couldn't get out of the water on his own.

The body of the drowning victim was recovered after emergency service officials searched for more than two hours, according to Potomac Valley's Facebook post.

Firefighters attempted life-saving measures and took Aldazabal Cucho to a medic waiting on the Jefferson County, W.Va., shore, according to Bortz's email. The man was pronounced dead on the shore.

The West Virginia medical examiner's office is investigating, according to Bortz.

'Treacherous' and 'deceiving' part of the Potomac River

Otzelberger said the group was not wearing personal floatation devices.

Otzelberger said the area where the two rivers converge is "very treacherous." But the water often looks calmer than everything around it, deceiving people into thinking it would be an easy swim.

The currents there go "every which way" and the depth of the water varies, he said.

Numerous rescue units respond to Potomac River incident

Also responding to the incident were a dive team from the New Market (Md.) Volunteer Fire Co., the Frederick County Division of Fire & Rescue Services with a drone, and a boat crew from First Hose Co. of Boonsboro's substation in Rohrersville, Otzelberger said.

Other units from Washington County, Frederick County and Jefferson County also responded, according to the Facebook post.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Germantown man drowns in Potomac River near Harpers Ferry on July 4th