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Darwin Awards
2011 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Rope Too Short

2011 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Police: Man possibly retrieving gun from river before his death

By Jim Patten and Mike LaBella

Staff Writers

HAVERHILL — Police are investigating the possibility that a man found dead behind the downtown flood wall was trying to retrieve a gun from the Merrimack River.

Detective Capt. Alan Ratte said members of the state police dive team found a Glock semi-automatic pistol yesterday morning in the river. The gun was near the spot where the body of Matthew Bleistein, 30, of Lancaster, Penn., was found suspended by a rope around his waist Saturday morning, police said.

The pistol was taken by state police for examination and ballistics testing, and Bleistein's possible connection to the gun remains under investigation. Police believe he may have dropped the gun in the river at some point and later tried to retrieve it.

The Eagle-Tribune contacted police in Lancaster, Penn., to ask if they could provide any information about Bleistein. A spokesman said any comments must come from Haverhill police, who refused to comment further until the state police testing is complete.

Bleistein was reportedly in Haverhill to visit his grandmother, who lives at the downtown Phoenix Row elderly housing complex a short distance from where his body was found.

Police said the body was found shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday, when someone walking along the wall saw the body caught in a rope.

Police said they found a rope and pulley Bleistein used to hoist himself over the wall, a flashlight attached to a headband, and some glow sticks. The rope was hooked to a nearby chain link fence and was tied around Bleistein's waist, police said.

Ratte said police believe Bleistein's death was accidental, but refused to comment on the cause.

The wall is about 15 feet tall and was erected in 1936 to keep the river from overflowing and damaging downtown properties.

Residents of the Phoenix Row housing complex near downtown Washington Square said Bleistein's 90-year old grandmother is a resident there.

Haverhill Harbormaster Michael Vets was called in by police on Saturday morning to assist in recovering the body. He said the river at that time was approaching low tide, and that he was able to bring his boat right up against the flood wall.

"They lowered him down and we put him in our boat and took him to the yacht club (Crescent Yacht Club) where he was taken by the medical examiner," Vets said.

He said that during a normal low tide, a person can stand on the riverbank at that spot, which is covered in gravel and rocks. The boating channel, farther out into the river, is three to four feet deep at low tide and about eight feet deep during normal high tide, he said.

Along that section of the flood wall is where Little River flows out of a tunnel that connects to the wall, allowing that river to run into the Merrimack.

Vets estimated the distance from the top of the wall in the area where the body was found to be 10 to 12 feet from the water's surface at high tide and 15 to 16 feet at low tide.

Submitted on 09/22/2011

Submitted by: Hoof Hearted
Reference: http://www.eagletribune.com/latestnews/x7816155/Police-Man-possibly-retrieving-gun-from-river-before

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

James said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
Thanks, Hoof, but I really don't see any egregious stupidity here, just an attempt to retrieve something gone wrong...


Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
What James said.


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