Police Say 'Death Waiting' For Swimmers At Milford Quarry
MILFORD (CBS) - If the words of Milford's police chief sound extreme, that's the way he wants it. "To them it's a swimming hole," says Chief Thomas O'Loughlin. "Underneath the surface of that water, is just death waiting for them."
When WBZ flew a helicopter over an off-limits Milford quarry with a history of drownings and injuries, a group in bathing suits tried to scurry out of sight. "It's like herding cats," said O'Loughlin.
Over the last decade, more than 240 people were killed in quarries across the country. That includes 18-year-old Nentor Dahn, who drowned after jumping from a cliff at the very same quarry where WBZ just discovered a group two years later.
"It gets your adrenaline going," said one teenager.
The issue prompted Milford to post "no trespassing" signs, and get an all-terrain vehicle for police to access the dangerous areas.
"Jump off the wrong ledge, you hit a rock, or hit a submerged vehicle," said Officer Joe Gresian, as he checked one of the quarries.
Officials say the water is contaminated with oil from vehicles, but it's the unknown they cannot see underneath that concerns them the most.
"For us, it's annual," said Chief O'Loughlin, "that we're going up into that area and bringing people out…hurt or deceased."