On Friday, May 24th at 6:02 p.m. the Riverton Police Department were dispatched to a call of two male subjects laying in a canal near the 300 block of Spire Drive in Riverton.
RPD released a statement Tuesday morning on the incident, in which one of the subjects was found deceased. The full statement is below in bold.
On May 24, 2019 at approximately 18:02 hrs, Riverton Police Officers responded to the canal bank located near 304 Spire Drive. Upon arrival, officers located two subjects that appeared to be trapped against the safety gate. Officers were able to quickly form a “human chain” in an attempt to rescue the individuals. After several attempts, officers were able to retrieve a 56-year-old male from Riverton, who was later transported to the hospital by EMS. The second male individual, identified as 63-year-old Benjamin Ridgley was deceased. Preliminary investigation reveals that the male individuals had slid into the canal bank approximately 300 feet from the canal bank.