US /

Teen Killed After Falling Into Open Sewer

Jacob Goulet, 16, disappeared Friday night in a driving rainstorm
By Linda Hervieux,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 24, 2016 12:02 AM CDT
Teen Killed After Falling Into Open Sewer
A file photo of a storm drain.   (Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph via AP)

Sad news out of Nashua, NH, after police say they believe a body found floating in a river is that of a high school student who likely plunged 20 feet into an open sewer. Jacob Goulet, 16, was last seen Friday night after he left a friend's house during a torrential rainstorm, WMUR reports. His family reported him missing Saturday morning. A Massachusetts State Police helicopter spotted a body floating in the Merrimack River in neighboring Tyngsboro on Sunday morning. A positive ID is pending, but cops said they believe the body is Jacob's. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Jacob’s family, friends, classmates," Nashua Police wrote on Twitter. Cops were investigating why the sewer cover was open. They described a steep drop into a storm drain that links to a water treatment plant. During heavy rains an overflow system discharges water directly into the river.

A frantic search began Saturday morning after a passerby spotted the open sewer and beside it a baseball cap and umbrella believed to be Jacob's. Surveillance video confirmed the teen was in the area, WMUR reports. Jacob's family searched storm drains across the city, hoping perhaps he was trapped inside one and would hear their shouts. "Maybe he might have fallen in and he’s just hanging on, and maybe he’s too cold to yell," his uncle, Darren Blouin, told WMUR. Devastated family and friends recalled Jacob, who recently turned 16, as a good kid who avoided trouble and liked video games. "Jacob is a sweet boy with a great heart,” family friend Lauren Comeau told the Boston Globe. "He is his father Billy’s whole world." (A freak hammock accident killed this teen.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X