UPDATE May 28: The Department of Environmental Protection says its officer left his post to investigate the situation on May 17 and spoke to pedestrians in the area but returned to his post after a 30-minute search of the area. The NYPD says a review of 911 calls in the 50th Precinct for May 17 determined there were no calls on file matching the location or type of call. Earlier coverage below:
It is still not clear how the body of a 31-year-old Bronx man ended up in the Jerome Park Reservoir.
Neighbors reported hearing calls for help three days before Drummond’s body was found on May 20.
A couple who lives in the area reported hearing someone yelling for help in Spanish from the reservoir at around 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. The duo showed News 12 call records to 911 that day and said they also verbally alerted an officer with the Department of Environmental Protection, who the NYPD says patrols the reservoir.
However, the longtime neighbors said that the officer they spoke to only drove around the reservoir and they did not see the officer enter to look.
On May 20, police received a call about a body in the reservoir. That body was later identified as Drummond on May 27, exactly a week after he was pulled from the water.
The police did not confirm if what the couple, who asked to remain anonymous, allegedly heard is connected to Drummond’s death. The Office of the Medical Examiner is still determining the exact cause of death.
News 12 is also awaiting a response from the Department of Environmental Protection on how, if at all, the city's water supply was affected by this incident. According to the DEP, on average, "about 10% of New York City’s drinking water passes through Jerome Park Reservoir and the Croton Water Filtration plant on a typical day."
The reservoir sits next to a public park and near Lehman College and the Bronx High School of Science. Residents frequently use Jerome Park for recreation and exercise.