Man found dead after possible drowning in LaHave River

Police in Bridgewater, N.S., are investigating a possible drowning after a 37-year-old man died in the LaHave River on Monday.

First responders were called at 11:23 a.m. AT.

Police said a body was recovered from the river with the help of an underwater drone around 12:40 p.m.

"At this time, police believe there is no criminal nature to this incident, and the investigation is being treated as an accidental drowning," the Bridgewater Police Service said in a social media post.

Police said the man, from Lunenburg County, was spotted swimming in the LaHave River off King Street by King Street Court, a park on the riverbank between the town's two bridges.

"He was in some sort of distress. Unsure of why, some bystanders jumped into the water and tried to assist him. They weren't able to. He went underwater," said Bridgewater Police Service Deputy Chief Danny MacPhee.

MacPhee said the Bridgewater, Dayspring and Northfield fire departments put boats in the water to find the man.

"We were able to retrieve the body of the individual, bring him to shore, identify him and notify some of his family, but not all," MacPhee said.

The chief said in his 25 years working in Bridgewater, he's rarely seen people swimming in that part of the river.

"Mostly for us, we see kayakers or people on canoes between the two bridges. I cannot count more than two or three times I've seen somebody swimming there," he said.

The Nova Scotia Medical Examiner's Office will be helping in the investigation, police said.