Search continues for man
who drowned in Delaware River

Recovery workers continued to search the Delaware River on Tuesday for a North Philadelphia man who disappeared below the surface while swimming with friends near the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge on Sunday evening.
Alisandro Ortiz-Valentin, 21, of the 2300 block of N. Reese St., and several friends had entered the river from the public boat launch at 5601 Tacony St., said Capt. Jack McGinnis of Northeast Detectives.
Shortly after 7 p.m., witnesses saw Ortiz-Valentin waving his arms in distress. He then sank below the water surface.
Patrol officers from the 15th Police District were first on the scene. Police and fire marine units and a local Coast Guard boat took part in the initial rescue effort.
The incident occurred on the same weekend that two people drowned and another went missing while swimming in rough surf at the Jersey Shore. The extraordinarily strong undercurrents have been attributed to the effects of Tropical Storm Bertha. ••