Providence resident dies in second drowning incident in one day in Ocean State

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WLNE) — Hours after a similar incident in Lincoln, second drowning occurred in Smithfield on June 24.

Advocates said it was not the first time that location was the center of tragedy.

The search for a missing person at Georgiaville Pond in Smithfield ended with the recovery of a a 31-year-old Providence resident’s body.

Police got the first calls to the scene at 9:15 p.m., but town officials said it was too late.

“Unfortunately, this situation, time was a factor,” Smithfield Fire Department Deputy Chief Steven Quattrini said. “They waited so long, or they didn’t realize he was missing for so long, and when the notification was made, by then, it was too late.”

The death affected many in the local community, including P.J. Taylor, who lives by the pond.

“I seen all the trucks coming in, I seen the fire boats come in, I knew right away somebody drowned here,” Taylor said. “They don’t bring that much stuff in for somebody just having a hard time.”

Taylor installed the Georgiaville Beach Memorial, which honors those who have died in the pond, and runs the Georgiaville Beach Memorial Facebook group.

He said he was inspired to do so after three of his friends drowned in the pond years ago.

“It was something that needed to be done,” Taylor said. “I started doing it, and I’ve gotten tremendous support from the town, a lot of good support from people donating money to the cause.”

The man who died on June 24 was the 25th in recorded history to have drowned at the pond, and the first since 2017.

Taylor warned others about dangers in the pond, including its cold springs, which he believes have caused most of the drownings in the pond.

“That’s the biggest problem in this pond, when we have people come from other towns, they’re not aware of this, and that’s the big problem,” he said.

This was the first death at the pond since the memorial was installed.

Taylor said that he hoped that the memorial doesn’t have to add any more names in the future.