Local
Altoona Man's Body Pulled from Little Juniata River
By Chris Forshey
Jan 30, 2007, 09:00

It was tragic end to a widespread search effort that got underway early this morning.

Authorities have pulled the body of 34-year-old Edward Adam Taylor from the Little Juniata River in northern Huntingdon County just east of the Borough of Tyrone. Rescue workers converged on the rural site along State Route 453 where a State Police trooper saw Taylor naked in the water near a Norfolk Southern Railroad Trestle around 10:00AM Monday.

Authorities say Taylor was the same man police in Altoona began searching for around 5:00AM, after he reportedly walked away from the Altoona Regional Health System Altoona Hospital Campus naked. Eyewitnesses reported seeing Taylor on the railroad tracks near the Norfolk Southern Locomotive Shops in the Juniata section of the city shortly thereafter. Investigators believe that’s where he hopped on a passing freight train traveling east.

A passing motorist called 9-1-1 to report seeing a naked man in the water, leading rescue crews to the location. Taylor was already deceased. A dive team battled single-digit temperatures and a strong river current to retrieve the man’s body.

An Altoona Hospital spokesperson is not commenting on the incident. Blair County Coroner Patty Ross ruled Taylor's death accidental and says he died from drowning. Rescue crews from both Blair and Huntingdon Counties assisted at the scene.































































































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