Woman drowns in pond

A Roxbury woman drowned in Jamaica Pond July 29 after reportedly swimming fully clothed near the shallow beach at the pond’s northern end.

Boston Police and Fire Department divers found the body of DeAngela Fuller, 43, in about five feet of water 50 feet from the shore. Fuller reportedly entered the water in the broiling early Sunday evening as her boyfriend and young son looked on.

Fuller reportedly swam farther out as her boyfriend briefly returned to his car. When he returned, she was gone.

Boston Police received a radio call at around 7 p.m. Fuller did not respond to medical treatment at the scene and was pronounced dead at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Swimming and ice-skating are banned at the pond because of its dangerous nature. While the pond’s edge is relatively shallow, it rapidly plunges to about 50 feet deep. Springs that feed the pond weaken its surface ice in the winter.

Men drowned in the pond in 2005 and 1990. Earlier this year, a man in a wheelchair was reportedly rescued after falling into the water.

The pond’s dangerous reputation goes back at least to the early 1800s, when boys ice-skating there fell through thin ice and drowned. Small boys were reportedly banned from the pond in winter in that era.

Fire Department rescue divers regularly conduct training missions in the pond.

From Boston Police press releases and Gazette and Boston Globe archives.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *