Girl, 6, found clinging to a body in lake

CARMEL -- Boaters rescued a 6-year-old girl from a small reservoir north of New York City after finding her clinging to the floating corpse of a family friend who had taken her to the water to cool off, officials said yesterday.

The cause of the woman's death was not yet known and an autopsy was planned, said Carmel police Chief Michael Johnson. He said she could have drowned or suffered an acute medical problem while wading with the girl in Lake Gleneida.

The lake, about 730 yards at its widest, is part of New York City's water supply system, and swimming and wading there are banned.

The woman was identified as Pamela Kaner, 59, of Brewster. Police said she was caring for the girl while her mother ran an errand. Police did not disclose the girl's name.

Officials said the girl told them that Kaner took her into the water in the early afternoon Monday and was holding her when something went wrong.

The child had no life vest and was crying as she clung to the woman's body in the middle of the lake late Monday afternoon, said Carter Strickland, commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. The agency owns the lake.

Two men and a woman in a rowboat heard her cries for help around 5 p.m. and found her holding on to Kaner's body, Strickland said.

The boaters pulled the girl from the water, took her to shore and called police, officials said. She was treated at a hospital, but had no serious physical injuries. Kaner's body was retrieved by firefighters, who paddled out in a commandeered boat.

Boats with engines are also prohibited on Lake Gleneida.

"She shouldn't have been in the lake," Johnson said.

The shore of the lake, which abuts the main road of the hamlet of Carmel, is littered with rowboats, most chained or cabled to trees. Johnson said the DEP grants permits for the boats. Signs on the shore say, "Recreation by permit. Entry for other purposes prohibited." Yesterday afternoon only ducks and gulls were on the water.

Kerry Browne of Carmel, a house renovator, said, "On a nice day like this, anybody would like to jump in the lake, but you know the rules." He said he hoped the girl would be able to recover from the experience.