|
Mystery Remains In Fahnestock Camper’s Death
by Claudia Gibson
Although Bruce Torgersen’s body was found on September 2 in Fahnestock State Park, ending a month-long search, several aspects of the 46 year-old North Massapequa man’s death remain a mystery.
While the coroner’s final report, including toxicology results, may clear up some of the issues surrounding Mr. Torgersen’s death, preliminary findings raise almost as many questions as they answer.
Speaking to the PCN&R, Park Police Chief Michael Cappucilli said that Mr. Torgersen’s body was found floating in an abandoned flooded mine located only 100 yards from Pelton Pond, and not on the other side of the road, as previously indicated by a Park Police spokesmen. Search dogs had traced Mr. Torgersen’s scent to Pelton Pond, a 90-foot deep former iron mine, and his jacket had been found nearby.
Chief Cappucilli said that the two former mines are connected via an underground water channel with a current; raising the possibility that Mr. Torgersen’s body could have traveled via this aquatic passageway from Pelton Pond to its discovered location.
Although Park Police spokesmen had been previously been quoted as saying that Mr. Torgersen had drowned due to accidentally falling into the abandoned mine, Chief Cappucilli says that no water was found in Mr. Torgersen’s lungs. "He had no water in his lungs, but he was found in water," said the Chief, a finding he says indicates that Mr. Torgersen was deceased or had stopped breathing by the time his body submerged. Chief Cappucilli says that there were also injuries found to Mr. Torgersen’s head.
Moreover, Chief Cappucilli says, "there is no way of positively saying" which body of water Mr. Torgersen fell into. He said there was no evidence around the abandoned mine where his body was found to indicate that Mr. Torgersen had been walking there, or had fallen in. The jacket and the search dog’s scent point to the Pelton Pond area; there is also Newsday’s poignant account of Mr. Torgersen telling his mother Edith how, on a previous solo camping trip, sitting on a boulder by the side of Pelton Pond had helped him come to terms with his father’s recent death.
His best friend said Mr. Torgersen had struggled with depression and insomnia, but was not a drug abuser. Divorced, he had seen his ex-wife succumb to cancer, but had two grown sons living on the west coast. He made a living as a painter and a handyman, and often performed odd jobs for elderly neighbors without charge. He loved music; singing and playing harmonica in a Beatles cover band, as well as working in a music studio and performing in a seasonal caroling group with friends.
Mr. Torgersen attracted Sheriff’s deputies to his campsite in the early hours of August 1 by creating some sort of disturbance that caused one camper to call 911, and others to recall his "ranting and raving." The deputies spent some 45 minutes talking with Mr. Torgersen, giving him a citation for marijuana, but say his demeanor was "compliant" and "not despondent" as he sat in his Chevy Blazer, which was stuck on a rock. It is known that after the deputies left, Mr. Torgersen immediately called the Park Police, requesting a tow, but was told to wait until morning. What may never be definitively known, however, are Bruce Torgersen’s actions in the minutes or hours following that last call. No one has reported hearing anything more from him.
Bruce Torgersen was buried on Saturday, September 8 in Long
Providing local news, information and opinions from
Philipstown and Putnam Valley, NY
Encompassing the Villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville,
and the hamlet of Garrison, Putnam County, NY.
This site is a publication of The Putnam County News and Recorder, the source for news and information of the Philipstown
and Putnam Valley area. The PCN&R is 139
years old, published in hard copy every Wednesday, and circulated throughout Putnam
County, NY.
The PCN&R prints LEGAL NOTICES
for: Putnam County, The Town of Philipstown, The Town of Putnam Valley, Village of Cold Spring, Village of
Nelsonville, the Haldane Union Free School District and the Garrison Union Free School
District.
Deadline for printed press releases, advertisements and classifieds is Monday at noon for
Wednesday publication. This site is updated on an as-needed basis with a minimum update
weekly on Thursdays. For further information or to request a subscription to the paper, please
contact us with your name and mailing address at:
(845) 265-2468 PO Box 185, Cold Spring, NY 10516, or e-mail us at editor@pcnr.com
If you see an advertiser on line, tell them! | Click ads below
for larger version
|
