Apparent drowning victim was Colorado police officer

A man who apparently drowned in a northern Colorado reservoir has been identified as a Johnstown police officer.

The Denver Post reports 32-year-old Yuri Thomas was swimming at Horsetooth Reservoir on Monday afternoon when he went underwater and didn’t resurface. His wife immediately called 911, and searchers found the man about 45 feet from the shore.

Thomas, who had been underwater for almost an hour, was pulled from a spot near a designated swim beach and outside the buoyed area.

Johnstown Police Sgt. Michael Timme says Thomas grew up on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and always dreamed of coming to the United States to work as a police officer.

A GoFund Me page has been set up to help the family.