Overview
- The fire department responded after multiple 911 calls about a swimmer in distress and bystanders pulled an unresponsive man ashore from a South Duxbury beach around 4:34 p.m. Sunday.
- An off-duty Duxbury police officer performed CPR on the man and the Duxbury Fire Department transported him to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth.
- Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz confirmed the victim as James Merlin, 66, of Duxbury, and said he was pronounced dead about an hour after police were first called; a family member told investigators Merlin had planned to swim to his boat.
- Massachusetts State Police and Duxbury Police are investigating the scene at 241 Marshall St as a suspected drowning, state police have directed questions to the DA’s office, and prosecutors say no foul play is suspected.
- The case is being handled alongside at least one other recent regional water death that Plymouth prosecutors have examined this week, and officials have not yet released a cause of death or additional medical details.