New York State Police have identified the two men who died Sunday during a boating incident on Kyser Lake in the town of Manheim, saying one suffered a medical emergency in the water and the other was struck by an unmanned pontoon boat.
Larry B. Barton, 78, of Dolgeville, and Lynn Richards, 65, of Little Falls, were pronounced dead at the scene after the incident around 2:40 p.m. Aug. 9, according to police.
Investigators said two pontoon boats were traveling together in the East Canada Creek channel off Kyser Lake. The boats were floating alongside each other and lightly tied together.
Barton entered the water from a blue pontoon boat without a life jacket and began experiencing a medical emergency, police said. The boat's operator, Frank H. Decker, 52, of Little Falls, went into the water to help him, leaving the vessel unoccupied.
Richards was operating a second red, white and blue pontoon boat connected to Decker's boat. Police said Richards boarded the unoccupied vessel and tried to bring it toward the two men in the water.
Investigators said Richards inadvertently shifted the boat into forward instead of reverse. The vessel struck a rock cliff, ejecting Richards, then continued forward and struck him, causing fatal injuries.
The Herkimer County coroner transported Barton and Richards to Little Falls Hospital for autopsies. Police said the cause of Barton's medical emergency remains under investigation and there was no indication of foul play.
No other injuries were reported, and police said everyone else involved was accounted for. The investigation remains ongoing.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.