Norwalk Man Apparently Drowns in Candlewood Lake Tuesday

Allan Nunez, 19, of Norwalk apparently drowned Tuesday after slipping out of the inflatable tube he was floating on during a visit to Candlewood Lake in New Milford.

"It's just a horrible, horrible tragedy, said New Milford Police Lt. Lawrence Ash, a spokesman for the department. "Just a very unfortunate accident."

Nunez, of Toilsome Avenue in the Cranbury section of the city, was a member of the football team and a track and field athlete at . Coaches and officials in the athletic department at the school remembered him as a hard-working and determined athlete, according to an article in Thursday's Advocate of Stamford.

Despite his athleticism, friends of Nunez were concerned enough about whether he could swim to ask him, Ash said. According to police reports, the friends told police that Nunez "indicated he did know how to swim."

The accident appears to have happened just before 6 p.m. New Milford Police were called at 6:01 p.m., Ash said. Once Nunez's friends saw that something was wrong, they rushed him to the shore and tried to resuscitate him without success.

New Milford police were waiting for autopsy results from the state Medical Examiner's Office in Meriden early Thursday afternoon, and an investigation into the incident has not concluded, Ash said. Police still want to interview more witnesses and family members, he said.

The swimming spot is at the southern end of New Milford on Candlewood Lake, which is largely8 owned by FirstLight Power Resources. No lifeguards are on duty at the park, which is a popular spot for teenagers and families, Ash said.

In the past 10 years or so, two other drownings took place in the same area, Ash said.