CONTACT:
Lieutenant Mark Ober
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
March 22, 2024

Dalton, NH – The NH Fish and Game Sonar/ROV Team and Dive Team searched a stretch of the Connecticut River in Dalton on Thursday, March 21, for a missing man who had reportedly gone into the river during the early morning hours of Saturday, March 16, 2024. The initial call that came in that morning at approximately 3:30 a.m. prompted rescue responses from Vermont State Police, Essex County Sheriff, Lunenburg Fire Department, Dalton Fire Department, Whitefield Fire Department, and NH Fish and Game. However, no one was located in the water and the information provided by the reporting party could not be confirmed.

It wasn’t until Monday, March 18, that the Essex County Sheriff’s Office received a missing person’s report for a Russell Matheson, 52, of Lunenburg, VT, along with additional information that he might have gone into the river in the early morning hours of March 16.

The Sonar/ROV team spent the day on Tuesday, March 19, scanning the river using side-scan sonar and a remotely operated vehicle, but they did not locate any evidence that would indicate that someone was in the river. However, additional information received by the Essex County Sheriff’s Office later that day led officials to believe that it was more likely than not that Matheson was in the river. This prompted a full-scale search by NH Fish and Game divers on Wednesday, March 20. Divers spent multiple hours underwater searching the section of the river with the highest probability of locating Matheson or evidence that he was in the water. After a full day of searching, diving operations were suspended just before dark.

On Thursday, March 21, diving operations continued with additional assistance from the Vermont State Police Dive Team. Both groups conducted multiple dives, accounting for several more hours of underwater time, without locating Matheson. Even with freezing temperatures and driving winds, dive teams along with the boat operators spent hours in the adverse weather in an attempt to bring closure for the Matheson family. At this point, the search has been suspended as the primary search area has been exhausted by use of sonar and divers.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Vermont State Police at 802-748-3111 or leave an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.