Skip to content
NOWCAST WESH 2 News at 11 PM
Watch on Demand
Advertisement

‘God knows I tried’: Friend says he tried to save fisherman swept away by brook in New Hampshire

‘God knows I tried’: Friend says he tried to save fisherman swept away by brook in New Hampshire
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      WATER. I RAN TO MY TRUCK. I GOT THE ROPE, AND I TRIED TO SAVE THE GUY, BUT I JUST COULDN’T DO IT. BRUCE GOODWIN SAYS HE DID EVERYTHING HE COULD TO SAVE HIS FRIEND JJ. WHERE ARE YOU? AND I COULDN’T HEAR HIM, SO I RAN BACK UP THE BANK AND I CAME OVER. HE CAME FROM BENEATH THE PIPE AND HE WAS ALREADY. THEY’VE BEEN FISHING ON THE BANKS OF BEAVER BROOK IN HUDSON THIS MORNING WHEN HIS FRIEND, 65 YEAR-OLD JOHN Q2 ENDED UP IN THE WATER. IT JUST HAPPENED SO FAST. HAPPENED SO QUICKLY. BY THE TIME I GOT THE FISH AND WENT OVER THERE, HE WAS ALREADY IN. WHEN I GOT UP THAT BANK. YOU GUYS GO LOOK OVER THERE. THERE’S A BIG BANK IN THERE. I TOLD HIM, I SAID, STAY OVER HERE. IT’S NICE AND FLAT. AND THEN HE WENT UNDER. I GOT THERE, IT WAS ONLY TOO LATE. HE WAS ALREADY IN THE WATER. MARINE PATROL SAY THEIR OFFICERS, ALONG WITH POLICE AND FIRE, SPENT 20 MINUTES TRYING TO BRING Q2 BACK TO LIFE. BUT HE DIED ON THE FLOODED BANKS. WITH ALL THE RAIN THAT WE’VE HAD IN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS, THE WATER IS JUST RUSHING. AND NEIGHBORS WHO LIVE ALONG THE BANK, THEY’VE NEVER SEEN THE WATER THIS HIGH. THE CURRENTS WILL TAKE. THEY’LL PULL ME RIGHT UNDER. HONESTLY, IT WILL PULL ME AROUND. AND I’VE BEEN SWIMMING, YOU KNOW, IN THIS BROOK SINCE I WAS A KID. GOODWIN SAYS THOSE CHURNING CURRENTS MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO GET TO HIS FRIEND. IT’S NEVER LIKE THIS. IT’S BECAUSE OF ALL THE RAIN WE HAD. AND I TOLD HIM THAT NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE THIS EVER HAPPENED. AND BOY, IT HAPPENS. IT HAPPENS QUICK. SO STAY AWARE AND DO NOT GO BY A RUNNING CURRENT WHEN IT’S HEAVY LIKE THIS. AND HE SAYS HE WOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO HAVE THIS END DIFFERENTLY. JJ WAS A GOOD GUY AND I REALLY MISS HIM. GOD BLESS HIM AND I’M SORRY I COULDN’T DO MUCH MORE. I TRIED, I TRIED.
      WMUR logo
      Updated: 11:06 AM EDT May 12, 2025
      Editorial Standards
      Advertisement
      ‘God knows I tried’: Friend says he tried to save fisherman swept away by brook in New Hampshire
      WMUR logo
      Updated: 11:06 AM EDT May 12, 2025
      Editorial Standards
      A man, who was fishing in a brook on Sunday, is dead after being swept into the water in New Hampshire, authorities said.New Hampshire State Police - Marine Patrol said police were called to the area around 9:25 a.m., Sunday, to Beaver Brook for a report that someone had fallen into the water and was missing. Less than an hour later, John Coutu, 65, was found dead. Coutu was not wearing a life jacket when he was found.Coutu's friend, Bruce Goodwin, told sister station WMUR that he did everything that he could to save his friend. "I ran to my truck, I got the rope, I tried to save the guy, but I just couldn't do it," Goodwin said. "I go 'Jay, Jay, where are ya?' And I couldn't hear him, so I back ran up the bank, and came over, and he came up under the pipe, and he was already ."Goodwin said that he went to help him get the fish he had caught when Coutu was somehow swept away in the water. "By the time I got there, it was already too late, he was floating down the water," Goodwin said. "He was a good guy, and I really miss him, and God bless him, I'm sorry I couldn't do much more, I tried. God knows I tried."People who are familiar with the area told WMUR that they have never seen the water this high, given all the rain that New Hampshire has received in the last week."The currents will take it. They'll pull me right under. Honestly, that'll pull me around. And I've been swimming, you know, in this brook since I was a kid," said Joe Rosko, who grew up in the area.Goodwin said that the intensity of the waters made it impossible for him to do more."It's never like this here, never like this. Cause of all the rain we've had, and I told him that," said Goodwin. "Never in my life has this ever happened. And boy, when it happens, it happens quick, so stay aware and do not go by a running current when it's heavy like this."Investigators believe it was an accidental drowning, but all aspects of the incident remain under investigation, Marine Patrol said.

      A man, who was fishing in a brook on Sunday, is dead after being swept into the water in New Hampshire, authorities said.

      New Hampshire State Police - Marine Patrol said police were called to the area around 9:25 a.m., Sunday, to Beaver Brook for a report that someone had fallen into the water and was missing.

      Advertisement

      Less than an hour later, John Coutu, 65, was found dead. Coutu was not wearing a life jacket when he was found.

      Coutu's friend, Bruce Goodwin, told sister station WMUR that he did everything that he could to save his friend.

      "I ran to my truck, I got the rope, I tried to save the guy, but I just couldn't do it," Goodwin said. "I go 'Jay, Jay, where are ya?' And I couldn't hear him, so I back ran up the bank, and came over, and he came up under the pipe, and he was already [gone]."

      Goodwin said that he went to help him get the fish he had caught when Coutu was somehow swept away in the water.

      "By the time I got there, it was already too late, he was floating down the water," Goodwin said. "He was a good guy, and I really miss him, and God bless him, I'm sorry I couldn't do much more, I tried. God knows I tried."

      People who are familiar with the area told WMUR that they have never seen the water this high, given all the rain that New Hampshire has received in the last week.

      "The currents will take it. They'll pull me right under. Honestly, that'll pull me around. And I've been swimming, you know, in this brook since I was a kid," said Joe Rosko, who grew up in the area.

      Goodwin said that the intensity of the waters made it impossible for him to do more.

      "It's never like this here, never like this. Cause of all the rain we've had, and I told him that," said Goodwin. "Never in my life has this ever happened. And boy, when it happens, it happens quick, so stay aware and do not go by a running current when it's heavy like this."

      Investigators believe it was an accidental drowning, but all aspects of the incident remain under investigation, Marine Patrol said.