Tragic Discovery in Catskill: Selkirk Fisherman Shares Emotional Account

Heartbreaking Discovery

A heartbreaking discovery was made over the weekend in the Village of Catskill when New York State Police recovered a body from the Catskill Creek.

Meanwhile, the Selkirk man who made the unsettling discovery posted about how hard this has been on him, as a peaceful morning on the water quickly turned into something he says he’ll never forget.

According to troopers from the Coxsackie barracks, the call came in around 11:29 a.m. on Sunday, November 2nd, after reports of a body floating in the water. Responding officers recovered the body of a male from the creek.

According to the NYSP, the body recovered from the Catskill Creek has been identified as McKinley Smith, age 32, of Catskill, NY. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Local Fisherman Made the Grizzly Discovery

One of the people who made the discovery, Selkirk fisherman Dave Disonell, reached out to GNA to share more about what happened that morning, a scene he says will stay with him forever.

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“I thought it was a log on the flat across from Port of Call,” he told us. “I was excited to see it, hoping there were fish around it—thinking it was a log. We went over near it, made a few casts, and as we got closer, that’s when we realized it was a body. We got about 15 feet away and that’s when we knew for sure—it was a body. The arms were sticking out forward under the water, and half of the head was above water.”

"I Still See it When I Close My Eyes"

“It’s a very unsettling experience to find a body of a deceased person while you are out doing something that brings peace to you,” Disonell wrote on his Facebook page. “Thank you for all that reached out to me. I’m ok, but I still see it when I close my eyes.”

Disonell said he fishes the Hudson River exclusively and considers it his “home water.” He added that while he always knew it was possible to come across something tragic, he never imagined the emotional impact it would have.

“Bodies are fortunately found to help closure with the family members,” he said, “but we also need to know that the family has closure for us to have closure.”

Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by this difficult situation, including Dave and his fellow fishermen who found themselves in a moment no one ever wants to experience.