Cops: Alcohol involved in Delco drowning

A 26-year-old Delaware County man who was drinking with family and friends along Darby Creek Saturday night drowned after a companion was unable to save him when he fell into the fast-moving water, according to police.

The victim, a Folcroft resident whose identity has not been released, was drinking with his brother, sister and a friend at a shuttered boat dock in the borough's Montgomery Park when he fell into the creek about 10 p.m., Folcroft Officer Dan White said.

"The water is not necessarily deep, it's between 8 and 12 feet," White said. "But it is a very fast-moving current."

When he fell in, either after slipping off of an embankment or in the course of goofing around, his friend, a non-swimmer, jumped in to try and save him, White said.

That friend was able to wrap his arms around the victim, but the current was pulling the man downstream so fast that his friend could not hold on to him without risking going down himself, police said.

Without a cell phone among them, his three companions went outside the park, walking up and down the street until they located a woman with a cell phone who called for help, White said.

Police from Folcroft and surrounding municipalities combed the creek and its banks for six hours before temporarily halting their search about 4 a.m. yesterday. It was resumed at 6 a.m. with help from PennSTAR helicopters and the Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue team, according to police.

The victim's body was found by a dredging boat about 12:20 p.m., about 100 yards downstream from where he entered the water, White said.

It's unclear whether the victim could swim, but White said alcohol and illegal substances may have played a factor in his drowning.

The park where the group was partying closes at dark, and this was the first drowning there in at least a dozen years, White said.

As of now, none of the man's companions are being charged with a crime, but police said they are waiting to conduct further interviews and awaiting autopsy results from the Medical Examiner's Office to make a final determination.