State Police make arrest in missing kayaker case
NEW YORK STATE POLICE
Major Patrick Regan
Troop F Commander
PRESS RELEASE
The New York State Police at Montgomery and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announce the arrest of Angelika Graswald, age 35, from Poughkeepsie, NY, for Murder in the Second Degree, a class A-1 Felony.
On Sunday evening, April 19, 2015, State Police responded to a report of a missing kayaker on the Hudson River. At approximately 7:40 p.m., Angelika Graswald contacted Orange County 911 and reported that she and her fiancé, Vincent Viafore, both of Poughkeepsie, NY, were kayaking on the Hudson in between Plum Point and Bannerman’s Island. Graswald reported to 911 that Viafore’s kayak capsized due to choppy waters and she could not locate him in the river.
On Wednesday, April 29, 2015, State Police Investigators who had been pursuing leads in this case developed enough information to charge Graswald with intentionally causing the death of Viafore.
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the murder remain ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the New York State Police at 845-457-1388 or send information to ftips@troopers.ny.gov
Graswald was arraigned in the Town of New Windsor Court before the Honorable Richard W. Thorpe and remanded to Orange County Jail without bail.
The body of Vincent Viafore has yet to be located and efforts to locate him remain ongoing. The New York State Police are seeking the assistance of the boaters, hikers and fisherman on both sides of the Hudson in locating Mr. Viafore’s body and preserving the discovery area for any possible forensic evidence that might exist. If the body is located within the water, the New York State Police are asking to be contacted immediately so that Forensic Investigators can respond.
