This story was updated at 9:52 a.m. on Thursday, Oct 21, 2021.

River rescue crews recovered the body of a man in his 60s on Wednesday evening during a search-and-rescue mission after a canoe capsized hours earlier.

The Allegheny County medical examiner on Thursday morning identified the man who died as Ralph Raymond Fuchs, 64, of Blawnox.

Mr. Fuchs and another man were in the canoe together when it flipped, police said.

The man who survived — also in his 60s — was holding onto the overturned canoe when he was rescued near the 62nd Street Bridge by passing boaters, according to Sharpsburg police Officer Brian Hoebel. He was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. 

Emergency crews received the call for the capsized boat around 4:20 p.m., according to county 911 dispatchers. About 3½ hours later, officers indicated that the search had shifted from a rescue to a recovery mission.

Shortly before 9 p.m., they recovered Mr. Fuchs’ body.

The two men had entered the river from the public portion of the James Sharp Landing marina off Main Street in Sharpsburg.

Police are working to review security footage from the marina to figure out a timeline of when the men went into the water and what the conditions were like.

Divers and sonar, in addition to various rescue boats, were used to search for Mr. Fuchs’ body.

The Fish and Boat Commission led the investigation, and Allegheny County Police later took over. 

First Published: October 20, 2021, 10:06 p.m.
Updated: October 21, 2021, 1:52 p.m.