A retired Philadelphia firefighter drowned Tuesday morning while fishing in a pond in Cape May County, police said.
Former Philadelphia Fire Department Lt. Peter C. Mosero, 70, died while fishing in a freshwater pond in Lower Township, police say.
At about 7:20 a.m. Lower township police received a 911 call that a fisherman was missing in the area of Lepor Pits Freshwater Ponds, right off Cresse Lane in the township’s Erma section, according to police.
When police arrived they found a fisherman who said he had spoken to Mosero while he was fishing in the early morning Tuesday and when he came back later, Mosero was gone but his fishing equipment was floating in the pond.
Middle Township Police Department’s Dive Team found Mosero’s body at 8:08 a.m., submerged in 12 feet of water. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The area of the pond where Mr. Mosero was fishing drops off quickly. We believe Mr. Mosero waded into deep water, became submerged and unfortunately was unable to return to shore,” Lower Township Police Chief Edward Donohue said in a press release. “However, the incident is still being investigated and certainly our thoughts go out to Mr. Mosero’s family at this time.”
Mosero lived in the North Cape May Section of the township.
