TEXAS TOWNSHIP, PA — A man’s body was pulled from the Lackawaxen River on Monday afternoon, January 29.

The Wayne County coroner, Edward Howell, said the Pennsylvania State Police at Honesdale reported the discovery of a body submerged near the spillway behind the Seelyville Fire Department, at 1200 Bridge Street in Texas Township, PA. Howell said the body was recovered by the Germania Scuba Team, assisted by Ledgedale Dive/Rescue Team and several other agencies.

The decedent was identified as Brandon Lee Duclos, 28, of Brooksville, Florida. He had been recently living in a home on Maple Avenue in Seelyville. 

“While fleeing and attempting to elude state police, the decedent entered the river and subsequently drowned,” Howell said in his report.

At around 10 p.m. the evening before, troopers from the Honesdale barracks responded to a domestic
violence incident at 913 Maple Avenue in Texas Township involving a man and a woman, according to the Pennsylvania State Police at Honesdale. A neighbor who witnessed the altercation reported that Duclos was physically assaulting the woman, who was pregnant.

The woman promptly opened the front door to allow the troopers to enter. Upon seeing the troopers, Duclos fled upstairs and leapt out of a second-story window. He then proceeded to escape on foot to the rear of the property and jumped into the river. Troopers saw him in the river for a brief moment before he submerged underwater, according to the police report.

The search on Sunday was extensive but unsuccessful  because the water was rushing too fast. The troopers and other first responders continued their search throughout the following day, with assistance from the state police Marine Unit, the Germania and Ledgedale Fire Department Dive Teams, the Seeleyville Fire Department, and the Honesdale/Texas Township Fire Department. Duclos’s remains were eventually located and recovered from the river.

Howell pronounced Duclos dead at 4:22 p.m. on Monday. An autopsy is planned, and the investigation is ongoing. 

Howell responded to the scene with chief deputy coroner Mark M. James and deputy coroner Kristyna Poska. 

Editor's note: This article has been updated with information from the Pennsylvania State Police at Honesdale.