Man found dead in Third Ward Park lake in Passaic, mayor says

A Passaic man over 50 was found dead in Hughes Lake at Third Ward Memorial Park on Tuesday, November 3, Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said in a community update.

Police received a report of a bag in the lake shortly before 11 a.m. Officers and park or maintenance personnel responded and found the man in the water, Lora said. The mayor did not say the reported bag belonged to the man.

What authorities have confirmed

Lora said the man was a Passaic resident and that his family had been notified before the mayor shared the update publicly. He did not identify the man.

The mayor said investigators found no indication of suspicious activity or foul play. The medical examiner’s investigation remains ongoing, and Lora did not announce a cause of death.

What a witness told NJBallot

NJBallot reporter Jacob Flores was at the park earlier Tuesday and interviewed a witness. The witness said an officer had told them that someone had drowned.

That statement is a secondhand account. Lora’s public update confirms that a man was found dead in the lake, but it does not establish drowning as the medical cause of death.

Scene video shows personnel at the lake

Video supplied to Jersey Alerts shows uniformed personnel beside Hughes Lake. The recording documents the response at the park but does not establish how the man died.

Developing information

The medical examiner’s investigation remains ongoing. Jersey Alerts will update this report if authorities publicly release the man’s identity, announce a cause of death or provide other confirmed information.

Reporting and sources

This report is based primarily on Mayor Hector Carlos Lora’s November 3 community update. NJBallot reporter Jacob Flores separately interviewed a witness at the park, and video supplied to Jersey Alerts documents uniformed personnel beside the lake. The witness account is explicitly identified as secondhand and is not presented as an official finding.

Photos from the scene

These stills from video supplied to Jersey Alerts show personnel working beside Hughes Lake at Third Ward Memorial Park on November 3.