Danbury man drowns in Housatonic

Felix Sanchez liked to swim and he liked to fish.

"He was a good swimmer," his sister-in-law, Ruth Vizhco, said Monday. "He took me with him up to New Milford."

On Sunday, Mr. Sanchez, 22, who lived on Rowan Street in Danbury, slipped on the bank of the Housatonic River while he was fishing off River Road in Kent, north of the village center and nearby North Kent Road.

He was pulled under by river currents and never surfaced.

"His friends got worried," Ms. Vizhco said. "They called the police."

An hour after Mr. Sanchez disappeared, at about 5:30 p.m., divers from the Kent and Goshen dive teams found Mr. Sanchez's body in the river. He was taken to New Milford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

State police from the Troop L barracks in Litchfield are investigating his death.

Bruce Adams, Kent's first selectman, said a beach has formed on a small stretch of the Housatonic River near North Kent Road.

The place is popular for people who go swimming in the river. Because there are rapids nearby, it's also a place that's popular as a put-in site for kayakers, Mr. Adams said.

The first selectman said even while the Housatonic is low in late summer, many spots along the river can be deceiving.

"There are places like that up and down the river," he said. "They look fine. Then you can get in trouble."

Mr. Adams said when that happens there's no guarantee anyone will be able to help you get out.

"The river is not patrolled or overseen by anyone," he said.

Mr. Sanchez's family said Monday he had moved to the United States from the town of Sighsi in Ecuador about six years ago. They said his body will be returned there for burial.

He moved to Rowan Street about three months ago and was working in Ridgefield as a machinist, his family said.

"He was very kind and very friendly," Ms. Vizhco said. "He was very generous."

She added he was a doting father to his son David, who is 3.

"His son meant everything to him," Ms. Vizhco said.