Teen Drowns in Esopus Creek Tubing Accident

A fun day ended in tragedy Saturday morning on the Esopus.

According to the Daily Freeman, the Ulster County Sheriffs office responded a report of an adult male and a teenage girl in distress in the water on Saturday on the Espous Creek, a popular spot for families to go tubing.

The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday afternoon that 14-year-old Jordyn Engler, of Connecticut, drowned in the incident in the creek off Route 28.

Authorities also identified the man they rescued from the water as Jordyn’s father, Jeffrey Engler.

Town Tinker Tube Rental owner told the Freeman that "the pair entered the water at the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Shandaken fishing access point". He said the "two were not customers of his business".

He also said there is something called a strainer at the fishing access point. The strainer is a water hazard created when wood and other debris is pushed up along the shoreline.

Our thoughts and prayers are with family.