Dive team recovers body at Warren Falls
August 14, 2024 | By Lisa Scagliotti 
Search and rescue personnel at Warren Falls. Photo courtesy of Stowe Mountain Rescue
Vermont State Police announced on Wednesday evening that search and recovery personnel earlier in the day recovered a body from the Mad River at Warren Falls believed to be that of swimmer from New Jersey who went missing on Saturday.
The body, thought to be 35-year-old Tuan Baldino, of Paramus, New Jersey, was taken to the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and to confirm identity, police said, adding that this incident does not appear suspicious.
Baldino fell into high and fast-moving water on Saturday afternoon, a day after Vermont experienced heavy and severe rainstorms. Local swift water technical rescue crews along with state police divers searched on Saturday and Sunday to no avail. The search was suspended on Monday and Tuesday due to hazardous conditions. The recovery effort resumed today.
Photo courtesy of Stowe Mountain Rescue
Following the discovery of the body on Wednesday, the state police announcement noted that Warren Falls and the surrounding river area will remain closed at least through Thursday, Aug. 15. “The river remains dangerous and is filled with debris after several logs were removed during the course of the recovery operation,” the police statement says. “The Vermont State Police cautions the public to expect continued hazardous conditions even after the area reopens to the public, and to avoid swimming or jumping into the river.”
In addition to the Vermont State Police Underwater Recovery Team, other agencies taking part in the operation at Warren Falls included Stowe Mountain Rescue, the U.S. Forest Service, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, Warren Fire and Public Works departments, and E&S Transport.
Original story is below.
Search continues at Warren Falls for missing man presumed drowned
August 11, 2024 Update 4:30 p.m.: Vermont State Police identified the missing swimmer at Warren Falls as 35-year-old Tuan Baldino of Paramus, New Jersey. Search and recovery efforts continued today but due to the conditions of the Mad River with high and swift water, recovery was unsuccessful, police said in an afternoon news update. The search will resume when river conditions allow, possibly as early as Monday. State police continue to ask that anyone with information regarding this incident call the Berlin barracks at 802-229-9191.
On Saturday afternoon, first responders and multiple water rescue units converged on Warren Falls in response to a report of a drowning at the popular swimming hole.
The call came at about 1:45 p.m. that an individual last seen in the Cascades section of the falls could not be found, according to a Vermont State Police news release late Saturday night. Eight hours later with the search suspended until today, the missing man had not been located.
Police have not released the man’s name, but state police Sgt. William Warner said he is from New Jersey and information on the incident was released only after family members out of state were notified.
The news release issued at 10 p.m. on Saturday characterized the case as a missing person because searchers were not able to locate the man. “Basically, witnesses and friends reported he went into the water and did not come back up,” Warner said in an email. Given what investigators know so far, he explained, they believe this to be a drowning, but so far have not located the individual. “The only thing we can say for sure is that he’s missing,” Warner said.
Saturday’s weather was warm and sunny, a sharp contrast from Friday when severe storms swept through Vermont bringing high winds and heavy bouts of rainfall. Rivers and streams across the region were running high and fast with storm runoff on Saturday.
The state police statement noted multiple agencies took part in Saturday’s response: the Warren Constable, Mad River Valley Ambulance, Barre Town EMS, Stowe Fast Water Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue, and the Vermont State Police Underwater Rescue Team.
The search was halted at nightfall and is to resume this morning, police said.
The public is asked for any information that might assist the search team. Warner said that anyone who was in the area and saw anything “notable or out of the norm” that could be relevant to this incident should contact the Berlin state police barracks at 802-229-9191.