Alexandria man found drowned
Area search and rescue teams discovered a 23-year-old Northern Virginia man Sunday who had been missing since last week, drowned in a cove in the Rivanna River.
Matthew John Kelleher of Alexandria was swimming in the river just above the Woolen Mills dam at about 4 p.m. Friday when he was swept up in a current and went over the dam, Albemarle County police said.
Search and rescue canine units found Kelleher submersed in about five feet of water about a mile or so from the dam near the Luck Stone quarry area, said Albemarle Lt. Earl Newton. Kelleher, who was in town visiting friends, was unfamiliar with the Rivanna, his friends had said Friday.
Rough currents and high water levels kept divers from entering the river Friday and Saturday. A Virginia State Police helicopter joined the search Saturday to assist.
On Sunday, officials with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Water Rescue, Virginia State Police Dive Team, Lake Monticello Water Rescue, Virginia Department of Inland Game and Fisheries, Dogs East Search and Rescue, and the Albemarle County Police Underwater Recovery unit searched the river between the dam and the Milton Boat landing off Route 729.