As people are trying to beat the heat by swimming, the sheriff in Columbia County is warning people to stay away from unsupervised, unsafe bodies of water. This after a 19-year-old drowned in Chatham over the weekend.
Part of the reason that 19-year-old Brett Cappelli of Valerie drowned and died at Stoney Kill Creek watering hole is because it is back behind brush, situated along several parcels of private property. And because it is private, the creek is of course -- unsupervised.
According to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Cappelli went under in about 15 feet of water in the Stoney Kill, and did not resurface.
It was more than an hour before rescue dive crews were able to recover his body, and Cappelli was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff knows it is impossible to keep everyone away from the water during this hot weather.
That's why Sheriff Bartlett is also urging common sense.
"This is a popular water spot for kids to come. The thing I can basically say with the beginning of summer coming here now, please be careful wherever you are. There are a lot of places like this in our region and you need to know your area, know the water and know your limitations if you can swim in that area or not," said Bartlett.
That holds true in many of our Capital Region communities, the region sees this swimming hole danger played out each year from the North Country to the Hudson Valley. So the main takeaway in this hot weather: try to cool off responsibly.