STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

NEWS RELEASE

CASE#: 20A202674

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Detective Sgt. Richard Desany

STATION: St. Albans

CONTACT#: 802-524-5993

DATE/TIME: 6:19 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2020

INCIDENT LOCATION: Lake Champlain near Alburgh Dunes State Park, Alburgh, VT

INCIDENT: Missing swimmer

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

Search efforts resumed Wednesday morning, June 24, 2020, for the man who disappeared after diving off a boat into Lake Champlain near Alburgh Dunes State Park on Tuesday evening.

Multiple agencies are participating in today’s recovery effort including the Vermont State Scuba Team, which is deploying sonar technology in an attempt to locate the victim’s body.

The missing man is identified as Dennis Rabideau, 52, of Mooers Forks, New York. Investigation indicates Rabideau was with four other adults on a boat that departed Tuesday afternoon from Chazy, New York. When the boat was near Alburgh Dunes State Park, Rabideau jumped into the water to go swimming. Windy conditions pushed the boat away from Rabideau, and he was unable to return to the vessel.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call state police in St. Albans at 802-524-5993.

Updates will be provided as the search continues.

***Initial news release, 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2020***

Multiple first-response agencies including the Vermont State Police are searching Lake Champlain for a swimmer who is missing and presumed dead near Alburgh Dunes State Park in Alburgh.

The Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department received an emergency call at 6:19 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2020, that an adult man had dived into the water from a boat on the lake and did not resurface despite the efforts of several other people on the vessel to rescue him.

Multiple police, fire, search and rescue personnel responded to the scene and began searching for the missing man. Search efforts included crews from Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department; the Vermont State Police; fire departments from Alburgh, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero, Swanton, and Rouses Point, New York; and a helicopter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The missing man had not been located as of 9 p.m.

The boat is believed to have originated at a marina in New York.

Police are interviewing witnesses and gathering additional information. The name of the man is being withheld pending further investigation and notification of next of kin.

Search and recovery efforts are expected to resume Wednesday, June 24, and include the Vermont State Police Scuba Team.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the St. Albans Barracks at 802-524-5993.

Additional details will be released when they become available.

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