Police are searching for the body of a Colchester man who presumably drowned in Malletts Bay after helping his floundering children Wednesday morning.
July 3 at about 9:46 AM, the Colchester Police received a call regarding a missing swimmer. Police say Cory Lavallee, 37 had been in distress and had not resurfaced after going under water. He had jumped into the water to assist one of his children who was also in distress and he was able to assist her back to their inflatable boat, but was not able to get himself or the children back in the boat. A sailboat nearby saw the kids in the water and was able to rescue them and call for help.
An extensive search of the area was conducted by the Colchester Police Department, Colchester Fire Department, Colchester Technical Rescue, Colchester Rescue, The United States Coast Guard, Vermont State Police, Vermont Fish and Wildlife and the South Hero Fire Department. A search from the air was also conducted by Coast Guard Helicopter and a US Customs and Border Protection fixed winged Aircraft.
Police do not say whether Lavalley or his children were wearing lifejackets.
The search has transitioned into a recovery effort.
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Categories: Police Reports
ALWAYS wear a life vest. There is no justification not to. Claiming you dont need one because you are a strong swimmer is as ridiculous as thinking u dont need to wear a seat belt because u r an ace driver.
That’s two incidents now this summer! People, you need flotation devices! Now we have two families mourning the loss of a young father and children whose lives are forever changed.
What a sad story, and so preventable if indeed these boaters were not wearing life vests.
Not sure what happened there, but the lake near me was rough as hell last Monday July 1st when I took my little outboard out — and promptly turned back to shore b/c I barely got it to plane and was practically tossed perpendicular a few times after slowing down. Sometimes, it’s just not a good day to go out on the water. And with this situation of being the only adult with children in an inflatable boat had to be a nightmare. On top of that, if no life vests were worn, rough waters would make it near impossible to get even kids back on board all by yourself. My condolences to this family.