UPDATE 1:00 P.M. (7/13) -- The Tompkins County Sheriff's Office is releasing more details in the double-fatal drowning accident in Newfield Monday evening. The passerby who contacted police reportedly was flagged down by three children on the side of the road. The caller stopped and the children said they were swimming with two adults and that the adults had been swept underwater by the current of the stream. 

The Tompkins County Sheriff's Office identifies the first victim as 27-year-old Carissa A. Stone of Newfield. The second victim is 29-year-old Michael R. Mayer of Van Etten. Authorities say both deaths have been rules accidental.

According to the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office, the children involved included a 5 year old child of the couple, as well as their two 9-year-old nephew and niece. The children witnessed the incident, but were physically uninjured. 

The stream where Stone and Mayer had been swimming is known as the West Branch Cayuga Inlet. Authorities say the public is cautioned against swimming in unsupervised areas, especially given fast and high water conditions due to recent rains. 

The Newfield Fire Company, Ithaca Fire Department, Bangs Ambulance, New York State Police and Tompkins County Mobile Crisis Team assisted at the scene. 
 

UPDATE (7/13) -- The Ithaca Fire Department has released more information about the recovery efforts after two people drowned in the Town of Newfield Monday evening. 

According to the Fire Department, 911 dispatchers received a call around 6:45 p.m. for a person who had drowned in Newfield. The Newfield Fire Company and Bangs Ambulance responded to the scene, which was in an "unofficial swimming area" on Newfield Depot Road near Adams Road. 

Fire officials say it appears one person was caught underneath a waterfall and drowned. A second person contacted a passerby to call for help and then attempted to rescue the first person. IFD reports the second person was caught in the raging waters and drowned. 

The Newfield Fire Company responded to the 911 call from the passerby and then called the Ithaca Fire Department's Rope Rescue Team to assist. 

Firefighters were lowered into the gorge on a rope system to gain access; efforts took roughly three hours because of nightfall and the high-water flows, firefighters say. 

The names of the victims have not yet been released.

The Tompkins County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and the Cayuga Heights Fire Department also helped at the call. Responders cleared the scene around 9:30 p.m. 

The Ithaca Fire Department is reminded every to "respect the power of fast-moving water and the areas near a waterfall when hiking" and to only swim in designated areas where there is a lifeguard present. 

Newfield, NY (WENY) -- The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident in the 100 Block of Newfield Depot Road in Newfield just before 6:45 PM.

Deputies were dispatched for a report of a possible drowning, in the West Branch Cayuga Inlet. Among those that responded included the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, Bangs Ambulance, and the Newfield Fire Department.

They say two people drowned. They have ruled the drowning accidental but they are still investigating exactly what happened. As of 7:45 PM, one person had been recovered, and crews were working on recovering the second person.

Deputies have not released the names of the two subjects, pending notification of the family.