FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ (Somerset County) – A father died Wednesday after pulling his three children out of the Millstone River in Franklin Township, according to police.
On August 2, at around 2:13 p.m., police received a 9-11 call reporting a man in the water, with three children on shore, police said.
Responding officers found three children, ages 8, 11, and 13 out of the water. The children’s father, a 42-year-old South River resident, was unable to be located, police said.
According to witnesses, the children went into the water and quickly became distressed. The father went into the water to help, pulled his children to the shallow water, but struggled to maintain his balance, police said.
Arriving emergency personnel entered the waterway but rescue efforts to find the father were unsuccessful. The children were treated at the scene and released with out further medical attention, police said.
Then at around 5:28 p.m., the father was recovered by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office dive team. His name will be released pending notification of family members.
The incident remains under investigation by the Franklin Township Police Department.
The Franklin Township Police Department was assisted by Millstone Valley Fire (Station 28), Griggstown Fire (Station 35), Franklin Park Fire (Station 31 ), Somerset Fire and Rescue (Station 56), Franklin Fire Marshals, Montgomery PD, South Brunswick PD, NJ State Police, NJ State Park Police, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Dive Team, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital EMS, and Rocky Hill EMS.
