Body pulled in Warwick while police conduct drill

A body was pulled from the Warwick side of the Pawtuxet River on Wednesday while police were conducting a mock drill with eerily similar circumstances.

Police tell ABC 6 that the dive team was conducting a monthly exercise where a dummy is thrown into the river so divers could search and recover the dummy, training for a scenario where a dead body is in the water

During the exercise, an officer came across the dead body of a 55 year-old man. In fact, police said that diver actually thought the man’s body was the dummy they were looking for.

Residents in the area are stunned by the grim coincidence.

“That’s a crazy coincidence but it’s scary,” said Cranston resident Kim Cadden. “Must’ve been scary for the [divers] too. They’re not expecting that. They’re looking for a dummy and they find the real thing.”

“I’ve lived here since 1993, nothing like this has ever happened,” said resident Mary Anderson. “It’s awful.”

Police said the body was not there long, probably less than 24 hours before it was found. No cause of death was released but authorities have ruled out foul play.