WINSLOW TOWNSHIP, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — The bodies of two swimmers were recovered from a lake in Camden County Monday afternoon. Investigators believe they accidentally drowned.
Authorities said the pair were swimming in Winslow Township’s Penbryn Lake and went missing before 3 p.m.
Township and county rescue teams quickly flocked to the scene to search for them. Their bodies were pulled from the water later that afternoon, according to Winslow Township police.
Swimming is prohibited in Penbryn Lake. The lake is part of a wildlife management area regulated by New Jersey Fish and Wildlife.
Police did not find anything suspicious, and they believe the cause of death is likely accidental drowning.
Barbara Stella, who owns Stella Farms up the street from the scene, said the lake was a quarry when she was growing up in the area.
“As kids, we weren’t allowed to go back there because the lake was so deep,” she said, noting it does not have an inlet or outlet, and the water is very cold. “The ledge goes out and it drops off to like, over 90 feet deep … ’cause it’s a quarry.”
The swimmers’ deaths are still under investigation.