The body of a Marietta man was pulled from the Susquehanna River on Thursday night after the 59-year-old drowned while swimming, police said.
Volunteer firefighters pulled John Ziegler, of 112 E. Hazel Ave., from the water shortly after 10 p.m.
Ziegler and a friend had gone to the river near South Chestnut Street with the friend's two dogs, according to Susquehanna Regional police Lt. Stephen Englert.
Around 9:30 p.m., Ziegler and one of the dogs, a golden retriever, went into the water, came back to shore and then waded back out about 50 feet into the river, police said.
When the dog returned to shore but Ziegler didn't, the friend became worried, Englert said.
After yelling to the man and getting no response, Englert said, the friend thought perhaps Ziegler had gone home. He went to Ziegler's Hazel Avenue home, which is just a few blocks away. He found out Ziegler wasn't there, Englert said, and called 911.
River rescue crews responded to the scene, and shortly after 10 p.m. volunteers from Columbia #1 Fire Department pulled Ziegler's body from the water a short distance from where he was last seen.
Ziegler was pronounced dead at the scene. Assisting police were volunteers from Marietta Pioneer, Maytown-East Donegal Township and Susquehanna fire companies.
An autopsy Friday confirmed the cause of death as accidental freshwater drowning, according to Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, county coroner.
Welcome to the new TalkBack on LancasterOnline. Please use the comment box below to share your opinion on this article. If you would prefer to use the previous TalkBack forums instead, please use this link.
