A "fit and strong" 42-year-old man drowned after going swimming in a Welsh river during a heatwave last summer, an inquest has heard. Marco Jose Patricio of Gladwyn Road, Wrexham, died after getting into difficulty in the River Dee, near the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Llangollen, on August 13, 2022.
He had been enjoying a day out at the popular tourist spot near Trevor with his partner, Natasha Sharpe, during last summer's heatwave. The pair had been "having fun and enjoying the weather" and had been swimming in the river to cool off moments before the tragedy, North Wales Live reports.
An inquest held at Ruthin County Hall on January 10 heard from witnesses who reported seeing Mr Patricio "waving his arms and shouting for help" from the middle of the river. A group of young men spotted Mr Patricio in the water and swam out towards him in a desperate bid to save him.
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The inquest heard the couple had decided to visit the river that afternoon as it was a "lovely, hot day." They had been swimming together when Mr Patricio decided to swim across the river.
After making it to the other side safely, he tried to swim back, which is when passers-by noticed he was in trouble. Witnesses described seeing him "bobbing" in and out of the water, before "sinking out of sight."
Three young men who witnessed the incident entered the water and swam towards him, but he had disappeared beneath the surface by the time they reached him. One man said he jumped into the river after seeing Mr Patricio "waving his arms and shouting for help."
He then spent 20 minutes desperately diving into the murky water, until he became exhausted and couldn't swim any longer. Ms Sharpe said she "had no idea that Marco was in difficulty" at first, as she was facing the opposite direction at the time, adding "it all happened so quickly."
Watching on from the riverbank, Ms Sharpe called for help at the popular beauty spot. But with minutes having passed with no sign of Mr Patricio, emergency crews conducted a large scale search of the area, assisted by specialist diving and mountain rescue teams.
Sadly, his body was discovered underwater by a riverbed near the bottom of the aqueduct at 9.40pm. In a statement read during the inquest hearing, Ms Sharpe said Mr Patricio was "very fit and strong."
She said "I have no explanation of how or why Marco drowned." Adding: "I miss him every day. I'm just trying to take each day as it comes."
A post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Muhammed Aslam found a small amount of alcohol in Mr Patricio's system, which was well below the drink-drive limit and not considered to have contributed to his death. Dr Aslam gave the cause of death as drowning.
John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales east and central recorded a conclusion of misadventure. He said: "I wish to pass on my sincere condolences to Mr Patricio's family and friends."
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