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Missing Connecticut River boater identified as Hartford man

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Authorities have released the name of a man who has been missing since he jumped off a boat and into the Connecticut River in East Hartford Saturday afternoon.

Ivan De Jesus Morales Mencia, 39, of Hartford went missing shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, after jumping from what authorities described as a 19-foot “jet boat type vessel” in the Connecticut River, near the railroad bridge in East Hartford.

Lee Sawyer, spokesman for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said in a statement that Mencia was not wearing a life jacket and was pulled under water in the current. He has not been seen since.

Sawyer said there were five other people on board: four adults and one juvenile. The boat operator was able to throw a flotation device to Mencia, but he was unable to grab it.

“Several attempts were made by the vessel operator to rescue the victim,” Sawyer said.

“According to witnesses, the person had gone into the water from a boat,” Sawyer said. The man “basically just jumped in the water and was unable to stay above the current.”

Sawyer said the boat was properly registered and that the operator holds a valid safe-boating certificate and possessed all of the required safety gear on board.

“The operator was cooperative and was determined not to be under the influence,” Sawyer said.

DEEP has taken the lead on the search efforts, East Hartford Police Department spokesman Lt. Joshua Litwin said, because the incident occurred from a moving or floating vessel in the river.

Crews used radar to search the area where the man had gone into the water, Sawyer said, but were unable to locate him. At 8 p.m. Saturday, the crews called off the search for the day.

Teams including local and state police gathered at the East Hartford police department at 7 a.m. Sunday to resume the search, but suspended their efforts at noon.

“This section of the Connecticut River is treacherous, as there are strong currents that flow under the bridge,” Sawyer said. “The depth ranges from zero to 40 feet and there are many obstructions making it difficult to dive.”

Sawyer said the incident is an ongoing investigation and that the search for Mencia will resume this week.

Emily Brindley can be reached at ebrindley@courant.com.

Jordan Otero Sisson can be reached at jsisson@courant.com.