Blawnox man died after canoe capsized in the Allegheny River near Sharpsburg

A man who died after a canoe capsized near Sharpsburg Wednesday afternoon was identified as Ralph Raymond Fuchs, 64, of Blawnox, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.

Greg Porter, Etna fire chief, said Fuchs’ body was recovered from the Allegheny River after dark. Sharpsburg police Officer Brian Hoebel said two men in their 60s were riding in a canoe on the river when something happened to cause the small watercraft to capsize.

One man was found by a “pleasure boat” holding onto the canoe. He was rescued and taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Porter said the cold water temperatures would have given someone only a few minutes to take life-saving measures, and the man who was rescued likely survived by holding on to the canoe. He said that man was not wearing a life jacket. He could not confirm if Fuchs had one prior to being found.

River rescue boats from Allegheny County and Pittsburgh were called to the area around the 62nd Street Bridge around 4:15 p.m., with crews out in rafts and jet skis searching. Police closed off a boat ramp accessing the river at James Sharp Landing as they searched.

Fuchs was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:30 p.m., according to the medical examiner. A cause of death is pending.

Porter said they used various sonar devices as well as drones and jet skis in shallow water to search for him.

“Everybody took this very seriously, jumped in and worked exceptionally well together to try and make an outcome that we would hope to be different than this,” Porter said. “Unfortunately, these are the circumstances we have tonight. The technology’s incredible with these boats right now.

“The sonar devices actually helped us find the location of the person we recovered. That was how they knew where to launch the divers.”

The state Fish and Boat Commission, as well as Sharpsburg and Allegheny County police are investigating.

Hoebel said officers will review surveillance camera footage to see what took place at the boat launch.

Porter urged people to use caution when traveling along rivers.

“A river, as fun as it is and so much recreational activity happens, is an incredibly dangerous place,” he said. “The water is cold. There’s a number of obstacles floating just below the surface. There’s things at the bottom of the river that can easily cause you to become injured or entangled. It’s not something to be taken lightly.

“You can certainly have a good time on the river. You should never be on that river without a personal flotation device. Fortunately, we don’t see this happen with any great regularity. At least once or twice a year, somebody on this river very close to these old mill-town boroughs is going to lose their life. We hope that people learn from that.”