On Sunday, September 19, at around 10 p.m., Marie Damms, out for a walk with her husband Michael Damms, fell into Sandburg Creek. She may have fallen from the little bridge over the South Gulley stream that connects the footpath from Clinton Avenue that goes on into Honor’s Haven resort.

Information about this tragedy has been slow to emerge from official sources.

What’s reliably known now is that Marie had fallen into the stream and her husband went to get help. But by the time he managed to get the Ellenville Police Department to the scene, Marie was unconscious and possibly deceased.

EPD were joined at the scene by Ulster County Sheriff’s deputies, and Ellenville First Aid & Rescue. Attempts to resuscitate Marie Damms were unsuccessful.

New York State Police were also on the scene. In a statement released to the Shawangunk Journal on Tuesday, October 5, a representative said only, “State Police responded to a report of a possible drowning on the Sandburg Creek in the village of Ellenville. Responding troopers, Village of Ellenville police officers, and Ulster County Sheriff’s deputies pulled Marie Damms, 65, of Ellenville out of the creek and attempted life-saving measures, but Damms was declared deceased.”

Since NYSP have resources and technology for handling cases in which a human body must be transported some distance to a road for collection, the Ellenville Police Department handed the case over to them.

The investigation into Marie Damms death is ongoing.

A funeral for her was held at Colonial Memorial in Woodbourne on September 26.

Marie was the daughter of Anna Mae Miller Bebe. She leaves her husband Michael; her daughters Carol and Alicia; her sons Michael Jr. and Eric; grandchildren Brittany, Matthew, Kelsie, Keelie, Kassandra, Kolbie, Alenna and Brandon; as well as great-grandchildren Zanobia, Zoriyah, Remmington and Kaylee.

She also leaves siblings Laura, Kathy and John Bebe, Anthony and Douglas Dingman, and Lewis Moon.