A body was discovered in the water at Fresh Pond early Tuesday, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and Cambridge police. A call reporting the body came in at 11:37 a.m, said Jennie Lopez, director of communication for Cambridge police.
Officers were still on scene investigating, but “preliminary indications are that the body appears to have been in the water for an extended period,” said a 1:51 p.m. announcement on the city’s website.
More information would be provided as available, the city said. A spokesperson confirmed at 3 p.m. that the investigation was ongoing, though by 3:45 p.m. there was only a single Cambridge police vehicle on scene near a community garden where scanner reports said there was a “report of a possible deceased body in the water.” The tarp that covered the body was removed at around 5:15 p.m.
The site last saw such a scene Sept. 13, 2024, when a person was spotted on the ground in the early morning and was later confirmed as a suicide by gun.
Water quality
Cambridge’s water is safe to drink, said Jeremy Warnick, city spokesperson. It is “of the highest quality, and rigorously protected,” he said.
Though Fresh Pond Reservation staff do not routinely collect data about dead animals in the pond or other parts of the city water supply, the Water Department “maintains a proactive watershed protection plan and closely manages the distribution system to safeguard this vital resource and ensure clean, reliable drinking water for the entire community,” Warnick said.
Fresh Pond holds roughly 1.5 billion gallons; the city gets water through a system in which it travels from the Stony Brook watershed to Fresh Pond before entering Cambridge’s treatment plant. “At the plant, all water undergoes a comprehensive, multibarrier treatment process that is designed to effectively address any potential contaminants,” Warnick said.
