CENTER — A Center seasonal employee was found dead in one of the town's sanitation ponds late this morning after it was noticed he was not answering repeated calls to his cell phone and could not be located, Town Clerk/Treasurer Joan Mobley reported earlier today.
Rescue workers responded to the location where he was last seen and noticed a rake he had been using for clean-up in the area was floating in the pond. They then summoned divers from South Fork who searched the pond and recovered the body of David Haskin, age unknown at this time. Center Fire Department, Center Police, Rio Grande Sheriff's Office and the Del Norte Fire Department responded to the call.
Haskin was the son of the late physician John Haskin, for which the building next to town hall in Center was named.  Town Hall will be closed for the rest of today (Wednesday). Assistant coroner Jim Felmlee will determine the cause of death.  It is suspected Haskin may have suffered a medical incident before falling into the pond, Mobley said.