Updated: From Search to Heartbreaking Recovery; Missing teen found deceased in the Susquehanna River

[By Wendy Post]

Following an extensive search that began on Saturday, May 9, 2026, 18-year-old Dalton G. Malmstrom was found deceased in the Susquehanna River. Rescue workers from over a dozen units were heavily present at the Nichols East Boat Launch along E. River Road in Nichols, N.Y., throughout the weekend and into Monday to assist with the search.

According to the New York State Police, Malmstrom was located on Monday, May 11, by the New York State Police Under Water Recovery Team and members of the K9 unit, who arrived to assist. The troopers were assisted by members of the Nichols Fire Department.

It all began on Saturday morning, May 9, when the search started after family members reported that Dalton Malmstrom had left his residence in the 2100 block of East River Road. At that time, family members told officers he was not acting like himself and that it was the last time they saw him.

The search began at the Susquehanna River and continued throughout the weekend, with the Nichols Fire Department’s rescue boat in use, and fire departments from Tioga Center, Athens, Sayre, Athens Borough, Owego, and Litchfield responding to assist. 

Also assisting were the Bradford County Office of Emergency Services, the Tioga County Office of Emergency Services, Greater Valley Rescue and EMS, the Bradford County Drone Team, the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department, and multiple volunteers from New York and Pennsylvania.

Upon discovery, a community began to grieve. On social media, Dalton Malmstrom, a 2025 Owego Free Academy graduate, was described as kind-hearted and caring. Most, however, upon hearing the news, were heartbroken and saddened for his family. 

In a show of support, a meal train was set up, a prayer service was immediately scheduled for Wednesday at the Nichols Baptist Church, and a GoFundMe to assist the family with funeral expenses was also set up at https://gofund.me/e19cbd534.

One post in particular, by Cathy Dawes, offered a show of support for the family, wrapped in prayer for the community. It read, in part: 

We come before You with sorrow that does not have easy words. A young man is gone, and a family now carries a grief no parent should ever know. Whether this loss came through accident or despair, we name the deeper truth—we have lost a life, a son, a beloved child, a person known and loved.

Lord, we lift up the family in Nichols, New York. Hold them in this moment when nothing feels steady. Be near in the hours when the silence is loud, when questions come without answers, and when grief feels too large to carry.

Wrap them in Your presence when words fail and comfort feels far away. Surround them with people who will not rush their sorrow, who will simply stand with them and love them through it.

Gracious and merciful God, our hearts are heavy today.