SAD NEWS: John's cousins son

Troy swimmer drowns in Hudson
By Danielle Sanzone, The Record
PLEASANTDALE — A 19-year-old Troy resident drowned when he failed to emerge from the Hudson River’s cold waters after doing a front flip off a 14-foot cliff, officials said.
The victim, who witnesses identified as a city teen named Colton Brown, went to a small boat launch off Riverbend Road with a group of friends from Hudson Valley Community College to escape the hot afternoon temperatures. A little after 5 p.m., four of the friends jumped off the cliff into the 12-foot deep waters below and only three surfaced.
The Troy Fire Department, Pleasantdale Fire Department, Rensselaer and Albany county Sheriff’s deputies, and the State Police responded.
After approximately 40 minutes of searching with the county’s diving team, Brown, pale and unconscious, was found at about 5:50 p.m. As soon as the divers got the teen on the boat, they started performing CPR and continued the lifesaving procedure until they reached St. Mary’s Hospital in Troy where Brown was pronounced dead.
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“He actually invited me to go swimming with him too,” said Shawn Krill, Colton Brown’s co-worker at the Deli & Brew near Hudson Valley in Troy, who was at the scene Thursday afternoon. “Then, an hour after he called me, my brother called to say they were looking for a body at the same spot Brown was going. I couldn’t believe it.”
As emergency crews moved the body from the boat to the ambulance, wails of sorrow came from his friends, his girlfriend, and his mother who had seen him alive only hours before the incident.
“There are going to be a lot of unhappy people,” said Krill. “He was a great kid and a real Troy boy.”
Authorities at the scene speculated that the death may have been caused from shock of the cold water.
“I have seen some miracles where people have been submerged two hours and we can still wake them up,” said Fire Chief Tom Garrett. “He didn’t make it, though.”
Friends who swam with Brown often were taken aback by his passing since they described him as “a good swimmer, energetic, and always in the water,” Krill said.
The popular swimming spot, near the intersection of Riverbend and Marion Avenue was an area where swimming is allowed, said Garrett.
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Posted on Sat, Jun 14, 2008
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Drowning believed to be tragic accident
By Danielle Sanzone, The Record
TROY — Nice. Outgoing. Caring. A good, decent kid. A hard-worker.
These were all descriptions of Colton Brown, the 19-year-old from Troy who drowned in the Hudson River Thursday afternoon after doing a front flip into the cool waters from a cliff in Pleasantdale in the town of Schaghticoke.
Brown, an employee at the Deli & Brew and a member of Troy High School’s Class of 2007, was with a group of five friends Thursday when he jumped off a 14-foot cliff into the river and never surfaced from the open water.
“His passing is a loss to the Troy High community,” said High School Principal John Carmello. “The effects have been widespread. We had counselors on-call (Friday) for several students who were upset about the incident. He was caring, outgoing and, overall, a good kid.”
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The school has started fundraising efforts in their guidance counselor office to raise money for the family, to help with costs of the funeral services, officials said.
At Brown’s place of employment, things will not quite be the same either, said Kenneth Stulmaker, owner of the Deli & Brew adjacent to Hudson Valley Community College.
“He was a great kid and a great worker. He always cared about other people. He will be missed,” said Stulmaker.
While toxicology results from Friday’s autopsy were not immediately available, authorities believe that the incident was an accident and no foul play was involved, said Sgt. Marc St. Germain with the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department.
“Nothing was out of place in the autopsy,” he said.
Officials believe that Brown, a resident of First Street in South Troy, was possibly knocked out when he hit the 12-foot deep water chest-first after a front flip off the cliff.
The Troy Fire Department, Pleasantdale Fire Department, Rensselaer and Albany County Sheriff departments, and the State Police responded after Brown’s friends called 911.
After approximately 40 minutes of searching with the county’s dive team, Brown, unconscious, was found at about 5:50 p.m.
As soon as the divers got Brown on board the boat, they started performing CPR and continued the lifesaving procedure until they reached St. Mary’s Hospital in Troy where Colton was pronounced dead.
“He actually invited me to go swimming with him too,” said Shawn Krill, Brown’s co-worker at the Deli & Brew, who was at the scene Thursday afternoon.
“Then, an hour after he called me, my brother called to say they were looking for a body at the same spot Colton was going. I couldn’t believe it.”
As emergency crews moved the body from the boat to the ambulance, wails of sorrow came from his friends, his girlfriend, and his mother who had seen him alive only hours before the incident.
Friends who swam with Colton often were taken aback by his passing, since they described him as “a good swimmer, energetic, and always in the water,” Krill said.
The popular swimming spot, near the intersection of Riverbend Road and Marion Avenue, was in an area where swimming is allowed, said Troy Fire Chief Tom Garrett.
“There are going to be a lot of unhappy people,” said Krill. “He was a great kid and a real Troy boy.”
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Colton M. Brown
TROY — Colton Matthew Brown, 19, died suddenly Friday, June 13, 2008, from a drowning accident in Pleasantdale.
Born in Troy on November 7, 1988, he is the beloved son of Michael J. Brown III of Troy and Barbara Ryan Brown of Schenectady.
He attended School 12 in Troy, Schenectady Junior High School and Troy High School. At Troy High, he was involved in the school's Web site "Scores Up."
Colton was a hard worker and was employed by the Franklin Plaza, Price Chopper in the Hudson Valley Plaza and presently at the Deli & Brew all in Troy. In his spare time, Colton enjoyed Play Station 3, loved nice cars and enjoyed swimming.
He is the beloved son of Michael J. Brown III (Christy Haskins) of Troy and Barbara Ryan Brown (Wilfred Diaz) of Schenectady, loving brother of Patrick Simmons of Schaghticoke, Scott Turner of Albany, Evan Brown of Clifton Park, Tishauna Gibson of Schenectady, Joshua and Austin Brown of West Lebanon, Courtney Scott of Troy and Chance Bruce of Troy; paternal grandson of Eileen Miller of Troy and the late Michael J. Brown Jr.; maternal grandson of Carol Ray of Troy and the late Harold Ryan Sr.; fiance of Chazz Fosmire of Troy; best friend of Fred Boguslavskiy and is survived by many friends and family.
Relatives and friends are invited and may call at the Parker Bros. Memorial, 2013 Broadway, Watervliet, on Monday from 5 to 7 p.m. followed the funeral service at 7 p.m. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, the family strongly suggest contributions to the Colton M. Brown Memorial Fund, c/o Trustco Bank, Fifth Avenue and State Street, Troy, NY 12180.
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