Man dies while trying to swim across eastern Indiana river

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CONNERSVILLE — Police say a 45-year-old died after disappearing under the water while swimming with friends in an eastern Indiana river.

State conservation officers say Michael Day of Connersville was trying to swim across the Whitewater River in Connersville when he began struggling Thursday afternoon. His friends at first believed he was joking but then couldn't find him after he went under the water.

Police say Day had been drinking alcohol but investigators didn't immediately know how big a role that played in his death.

Rescue workers found Day about a half hour later in the river about 50 miles east of Indianapolis. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.