What happened to David Holt? Officials identify body found in Clarion River

Officials recently found the remains of a 53-year-old man named David Holt, from Akron, Ohio in the Clarion River. Dan Shingledecker, the Clarion County Coroner identified the remains of the deceased. It is suspected that he died from accidental drowning in the river close to the Cook Forest State Park on Sunday, August 13, 2023.

David Holt was reportedly tubing in the river before he drowned. The exact circumstances that led to his death have not been revealed as of this writing. Holt's remains were recovered by a search party on Monday, August 14, 2023, at around 8:21 am. He was found east of Gravel Lick Road, near Hemlock Island. Shortly after his body was recovered, the victim was pronounced dead at 9:31 am.

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The authorities scoured the Clarion River for two days in search of Holt

On Sunday, August 13, 2023, at around 4:30 pm local time, the Clarion County 911 dispatch team received a call reporting the incident. Emergency services were dispatched to State Route 36 bridge, which is over the Clarion River in Cooksburg, Clarion County. The team continued their search throughout the night until the morning of August 14, 2023.

They explored the Clarion River across several miles in the hopes of locating David Holt. The missing man's remains were then recovered at 8:21 am on Monday. At the time, the identity of the victim remained unknown. However, the Clarion County Coroner examined the body and identified the victim as Holt.

Local authorities confirmed that Holt was accompanied by several people when the tubing excursion began. However, when David Holt lost his life, only one other individual was with him.

The identity of this individual remains unknown as of this writing and it is unclear if the said person was involved in the death of the victim. As per Explore Clarion, Dan Shingledeck mentioned that alcohol has been ruled out as a possible factor in the drowning in Clarion River.

Multiple officials from the Farmington Volunteer Fire Company, Clarion Fire & Hose Co. 1, Millcreek Volunteer Fire Department, Emlenton Fire Department, and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources responded to the emergency call and were involved in the rescue operations.

Several of the victim's family members took to social media to mourn his loss after the news came to light. More details about the chain of events that led to David Holt's drowning in the Clarion River are currently awaited.