Body of missing man recovered from reservoir in Lincoln

LINCOLN, R.I. (WLNE) — The body of a missing man was recovered from a reservoir in Lincoln on Monday.

Lincoln Fire Chief Robert Fisher told ABC 6 News Sunday that a man went into the water to help distressed kayakers but didn’t come back.

Police said crews from surrounding communities helped in the search for 46-year-old Javier Rivera, of Woonsocket, for two days.

The rescue effort began on the Lincoln side of the Wenscott Reservoir on Douglas Pike.

Limerock Fire Chief Tim Walsh said, “Sunday evening at 19:00, we had a report of a person who had gone underwater and we activated a rescue mode with multiple dive teams and we worked until 11 p.m. last night.”

Rhode Island State Police assist in the search for a man who went missing in the Wenscott Reservoir in Lincoln, Monday, July 10, 2023. (WLNE)

Rescue crews arrived back to the scene at about 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Officials told ABC 6 that Rivera’s family knew that crews were conducting a recovery mission, rather than a rescue. His body was recovered Monday afternoon.

Officials said the kayakers he went out to help are safe and being treated.

The reservoir extends to Lincoln, Smithfield, and North Providence.

Rhode Island State Police assisted crews from the three towns in the search.