Durham Drowning Victim Identified

He went under after struggling to swim at Millers Pond State Park Wednesday.

Authorities have identified the man who drowned at Millers Pond State Park in Durham.

Richard Bland, 21, of West Haven, was swimming when he began to struggle and went under around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

A Middletown police dive team, as well as rescue crews from Durham and Haddam, were called in to help with the search.

Bland was pulled from the water at 5:40 p.m., according to DEEP and emergency crews performed CPR on him.

Police said he became fatigued while swimming and his friends were not able to get him to shore. 

"They were swimming awhile, he became tired. He yelled out to his friends that he was having trouble swimming, they attempted to get him to shore and were unable to do so and he went under the water," Col. Kyle Overturf, of DEEP police, said.

Bland was rushed to Middlesex Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

The DEEP Environmental Conservation police are investigating. 

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