Police say victim accidentally fell into water
A 42-year-old Beacon woman died on Tuesday (July 18) after accidentally falling backward into Fishkill Creek while having her picture taken, police said.
According to a police statement, a witness reported that the woman fell down a 15-foot embankment into the creek around 6:40 p.m. Police, along with fire and emergency medical personnel, responded to the area of 50 Leonard St., near The Lofts at Beacon Falls apartment complex.
Sukanya Basu
On Thursday, police identified the woman as Sukanya Basu. According to an obituary posted by Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey, Basu was a workforce strategy consultant with Mercer and a former assistant professor of economics at Vassar College. She held degrees from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi, India; the Delhi School of Economics; and the University of Rochester.
Police said that when an officer pulled Basu out of the water, she was unconscious and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Basu is survived by her daughter, Mira Messing. A funeral service is scheduled for Sunday (July 23).
