Old Saybrook

Officials ID bodies found days after boat crash off Old Saybrook

NBC Universal, Inc.

Officials have identified the two bodies that were found on Friday after days of searching. The men had been missing since a boat crash off Old Saybrook on Monday night.

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection EnCon Police said they located the body of one man around 12:10 p.m. on Friday. They said search crews located the body of the other missing boater around 4:30 p.m.

The men have been identified by DEEP as 25-year-old Ian Duchemin, of Oakdale, and 24-year-old Ryan Britagna, of Waterford. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine each of their cause and manner of death.

Nine friends were returning after spending Labor Day on Block Island when the 31-foot motorboat they were in hit a jetty around 9:15 p.m. Monday, according to DEEP officials.

Christopher Hallahan, 34, of Westbrook, was found dead in the vessel, according to authorities. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that he drowned and ruled his death an accident.

Six other people who were on the boat were taken to the hospital and one of them is in critical condition, Connecticut Environmental Police Captain Keith Williams said Tuesday morning.

Officials believe that person was driving the boat, but they have not confirmed that.

Officials said the people who were on the boat have ties to the local community.

The capsized boat was recovered from the river around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Several agencies, including police and fire crews from several nearby towns, the State Police Dive Unit, and a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard station on Cape Cod have been involved in the search for the missing boaters for several days.

Contact Us