Police think 26-year-old Anthony "Jody" Suozzo IV was celebrating his birthday by taking a midnight canoe trip with two friends.
By: Mae Rhine
The search in the Delaware River and along its banks for a 26-year-old man, who, officials think, had been celebrating his birthday by taking a midnight canoe trip with two friends, was suspended at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday due to "deteriorating weather conditions," said Sgt. Jeanne Hengemuhle, a state police spokesperson.
The search will resume Thursday morning, she said.
The missing man was identified as Anthony "Jody" Suozzo IV of Stockton, according to Sgt. Hengemuhle.
Mr. Suozzo is the son of former Stockton Borough Councilman Anthony Suozzo III and grandson of former Stockton Mayor Anthony Suozzo Jr.
State Police Sgt. James Heitzman said the three young men were in the canoe Wednesday morning, which capsized outside of Stockton in the river across the road from Trap Rock Quarry.
The other two, identified as Samuel Rocco III, 22, of Stockton, and John Dunn, 22, of Lambertville, managed to swim to shore, police said. Mr. Dunn, according to Sgt. Hengemuhle, walked into the Lambertville police station to report the incident at 1:20 a.m. Mr. Rocco was found a few minutes later in the woods along the shore, she said.
Both men were taken to Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township, treated and released, then interviewed by state police.
Sgt. Hengemuhle said she had nothing official, but "we have been hearing" the three were celebrating Mr. Suozzo’s birthday with the midnight canoe trip, and "this was something they did every year."
She added, "Our preliminary investigation showed no drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident."
When The Beacon called the elder Mr. Suozzo’s house Wednesday afternoon, a woman, identifying herself only as Mary Jo, said he didn’t want to talk to reporters.
Sgt. Hengemuhle said the Suozzo family had been at the search site earlier in the day.
Weary rescue personnel and police were seen during the day, resting and keeping warm in their vehicles near the Lambertville Sewerage Authority where a command post had been set up around 7:30 a.m.
Emergency vehicles and police cars were surrounded by news vans from all three major networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as cameras and reporters from the various TV stations and area newspapers. A van from North Penn Goodwill Service was serving coffee and refreshments to tired emergency workers.
About 150 rescue personnel and police from about 25 different agencies, including state police and Coast Guard helicopters, were involved in the search, which had been "scaled back" around midmorning Wednesday, according to Frank Veneziale, deputy coordinator of the Hunterdon County Office of Emergency Management. The search concentrated on the New Jersey side of the river.
Sgt. Hengemuhle said the temperature of the water in the river at the time of the accident was 35.4 degrees. The depth was anywhere from 5 to 20 feet and the speed of the water was about 4 knots, she said.
"They didn’t make it far" down the river from where they put the canoe in, Sgt. Heitzman said. "It (the river) was moving pretty good."
"The illusion" is the river is pretty tranquil, Sgt. Heitzman said, "but it’s moving at a pretty good rate."
There were, "at any given time," 10 to 15 boats in the river conducting a search, Mr. Veneziale said. In addition, search dogs and rescue personnel searched along the shore, particularly in the wooded areas.
The banks of the river were searched twice, he said, once during the early morning hours and again after 7 a.m. during daylight.
As of midmorning, the search was concentrated in the area just below Stockton down river to as far south as Fireman’s Island, just below the Lambertville line, and would be stretched later in the day to as far south as Trenton, he said.
"This area (Lambertville) is our major focus," Mr. Veneziale said.
Rescue workers planned to continue the search all day and were in the process Wednesday afternoon of deciding what to do once it got dark out.
"We will search for some time," he said.
He stressed it was a "search and rescue" operation as compared to a "search and recovery" operation that would be instigated if hope was lost the man could be found alive.
Outlining the search, Mr. Veneziale said, "We started off with the squad (Lambertville)," which has an air rescue boat and other equipment for river rescues as well as ground searches. Then additional boats and personnel were called in, he said, as the grid searches along the shore began.
This was not the first time Mr. Dunn needed the help of emergency workers.
Nov. 1, 2003, during a rock-climbing outing in West Amwell, a rock broke loose and hit Mr. Dunn in the face, knocking him unconscious.
Mr. Dunn, then 19, was airlifted by helicopter to St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pa. His companion, Mike Falcone, 22, of Trenton, was not injured. Mr. Dunn was treated and released.
He and his friend were on private property when the accident occurred, according to West Amwell police, but no charges were filed.
Police said the two were about 700 feet above Route 29 when the accident occurred. Township police and the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad were notified at 4:47 p.m., although it wasn’t clear whether Mr. Falcone used a cell phone or some other means to call for help.
Police and rescue personnel met Mr. Falcone at the Rooster’s Coop on Route 29. They followed him on foot to a site known locally as the old Boy Scout camp, off George Washington Road, above River Road. The site was formerly a quarry.
Emergency personnel and police called in the Hunterdon County Emergency Rescue Team, a unit specially trained to deal with treacherous rescues. Emergency crews worked for several hours, long after dark, to secure Mr. Dunn and remove him from the cliff, according to police.
Involved in the rescue efforts Wednesday were the Lambertville-New Hope squad, the Lambertville Fire Department, Lambertville Office of Emergency Management, Lambertville police, New Hope Eagle Fire Company, Stockton Fire Company, Stockton First Aid Squad, Delaware Township police, Delaware Township Office of Emergency Management, Amwell Valley Ambulance Corps, Flemington-Raritan First Aid and Rescue Squad, Titusville Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad, West Amwell Fire Company, West Amwell police, New Jersey State Police, Northstar MedEvac helicopter, Hunterdon County Department of Public Safety, Hunterdon County Office of Emergency Management, Raritan Township Fire Company, North Penn Goodwill Service, Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, Hunterdon Medical Center Mobile Intensive Care Unit, Capital Health System Mobile Intensive Care Unit, Point Pleasant Fire Company, Palisades Search and Rescue (search dogs) in Lambertville, Clinton First Aid and Rescue Squad, United States Coast Guard, Upper Black Eddy Fire Company, Pennington Road Fire Company, Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, Lambertville Sewerage Authority, West Jersey K9 Search and Rescue, New Jersey Rescue and Recovery and Central Jersey Technical Rescue.
Boats were provided by the Lambertville-New Hope squad, state police, New Hope Eagle Fire Company, Whitehouse First Aid and Rescue Squad, Titusville-Union Fire Company and Clinton First Aid and Rescue Squad.