Funeral set for NY trooper who drowned on marine patrol

MAYFIELD, N.Y. (AP) — A funeral service will be held next week for a New York state trooper who drowned Sunday while on duty at a lake in the Adirondack Mountains.

The service for Trooper James Monda is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at St. John the Evangelist Church in Schenectady, state police said. Visitation will be at the church the day before from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The 45-year-old Monda drowned while working a marine detail on the Great Sacandaga Lake around 4 p.m. Sunday. Wearing diving gear, he entered the water at a boat launch and did not resurface, state police said.

Monda, an 18-year veteran of the force, was pulled from the water and pronounced dead at a Gloversville hospital. He is survived by his fiancée, mother and father.

At a news conference Monday, State Police Superintendent Kevin Bruen described Monda’s death as accidental drowning and said that an autopsy had ruled out a medical emergency.