Bodies recovered after 2 men drown in Greeley, Colorado pond

GREELEY, Colo. — Two people drowned at Poudre Ponds last week and a rescue team recovered their bodies on Sunday, the Greeley Police Department said in a release Monday.

Members of the Greeley Fire Department were conducting training exercises at the Poudre Ponds Thursday morning when a citizen approached them after finding personal items on the bank of one of the ponds, Greeley police said.

Police officers tried to find the owners of the items, which included a wallet, clothing and a cell phone. Officers weren’t able to find anyone in the area to claim those items. During the search, officers found a truck and were able to locate its owner.

The truck’s owner told police a family member often drove the truck, according to the release. They also told officers that the driver of the truck was last seen with another friend.

The Greeley Fire Department’s Water Rescue/Dive Team used sonar technology to find two bodies at the bottom of one of the ponds. The team removed both bodies from the water Sunday afternoon.

The Weld County Coroner said the victims were both men in their 20s. Their names have not yet been released. Police said it appears their deaths were an accident. 

Multiple people have died in Colorado waters this summer. Two people have drowned at Chatfield Reservoir, and just last week a Utah fire captain drowned in a river rafting accident.

“We’re really concerned with the number of water recreation deaths we’ve seen so far this year,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told 9NEWS last week. “We’re approaching 20, and to hit that number before July 4th is really alarming.”

CPW said water rescues are nearing totals normally seen over an entire summer. Van Hoose attributed the rise in water rescues and deaths to hot temperatures and strong winds.

9NEWS’ Evan Kruegel contributed to this report.

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