Body Found In Cambridge Pond Identified, No Foul Play Suspected

CAMBRIDGE, MA — The body discovered in the water at Fresh Pond last week has been identified as a 41-year-old man, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and the Cambridge Police Department announced Friday.

Cambridge police and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office responded to Fresh Pond shortly after 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, for a report of a body along the shoreline. The Cambridge Fire Department also responded and removed the body from the water.

According to Ryan, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner accepted the case and determined the individual was a 41-year-old man who was known to be in the area. Authorities did not release the man's identity.

The preliminary investigation did not indicate any obvious trauma to the body, and foul play is not currently suspected. Authorities previously said preliminary indications suggested the body had been in the water for an extended period of time.

Following the discovery, Cambridge Water Department Managing Director Mark Gallagher said the city's drinking water remains safe.

"Cambridge’s drinking water is safe, of the highest quality, and rigorously protected," Gallagher said.

Gallagher said Fresh Pond holds roughly 1.5 billion gallons of water and is part of a managed system in which water travels from the Stony Brook watershed to Fresh Pond before entering the city's Water Treatment Plant. There, the water undergoes what Gallagher described as a "comprehensive, multi-barrier treatment process" designed to address potential contaminants.

The Cambridge Water Department also maintains a Watershed Protection Plan and closely manages the distribution system to ensure clean and reliable drinking water.

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