05/16/2003

By ALEX KUFFNER
Journal staff writer

An avid fisherman, Jagolinzer kept his 21-foot boat at the Striper Marina. He apparently fell from the dock or from his boat. His body was found near some rocks next to his boat around 12:45 a.m., according to police Chief John M. LaCross.

Foul play is not suspected.

According to LaCross, Jagolinzer had gone to the marina either for a fishing trip or to work on his boat. When he did not come home by 11 p.m., his wife, Helen, called police to notify them that her husband had planned to be home by 9 p.m. and was overdue. Police did not check the marina at that time, as had been reported earlier.

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski AT WORK: Bob Jagolinzer works the phone at his desk in the Northwest bureau early this year.

When she called again at 12:35 a.m., LaCross said, an officer checked the marina and spotted Jagolinzer seven feet below the dock on the river bottom, exposed as the tide went out.

His body may have been dragged by the tide underneath the dock, the chief said. Jagolinzer's boat was secured to the dock.

The town rescue squad was called but found that Jagolinzer was dead at the scene. LaCross said that Jagolinzer had a visible head injury.

A cause of death has not been determined. Police were awaiting results of an autopsy by the state medical examiner.

Jagolinzer had kept his boat, "Gone Fishin','' at Striper Marina's north dock on the Warren River for at least two decades, said Al Elson, who manages the marina.

Elson said Jagolinzer came to the marina alone yesterday at about 7:30 p.m. and was the last person there when he left at 8:30 p.m.

Jagolinzer may have been catching herring at a nearby stream off County Road and taking the fish back to his boat to use as bait for an upcoming fishing trip, said Elson.

Jagolinzer, who lived at 12 Barton Ave. in Warren, grew up in Bristol. He joined The Journal in 1969 and worked in most of its local news bureaus. Known by his colleagues as "Jag," he had most recently been assigned to the Northwest bureau.

Journal executive editor Joel Rawson called Jagolinzer "a dedicated journalist who knew that reporting the news of our cities and towns was important and honorable work. You could count on him to get the story."

Deputy executive editor Carol Young, who oversees staff in the Journal news bureaus, noted that Jagolinzer's father, the late Sidney Jagolinzer, had been the bureau manager in the Warren office -- and her first boss.

"Bob was just like his father in many ways: A tough-talking, blustery character who enjoyed confronting recalcitrant public officials. But, on the inside, he was just an old softy."

Jagolinzer had been due to receive an award tonight from the Rhode Island Press Association for his story on Johnston being the second-most Italian community in the United States.

"It was so fitting that Bob's award would be in the 'Spirit of Rhode Island' category becase he spent his entire career as a front-line journalist writing about the people and places of Rhode Island," Young said.

Jagolinzer had been Guild president since 1998, after previously serving as its secretary, according to the union's Web site.

Timothy Schick, administrator of the Providence Newspaper Guild, described Jagolinzer as "a very determined and lovable individual."

"He cared very deeply about his wife. Helen was number one in his world," he said.

"He was also very committed to the members of the Guild. After his wife and family, it was the Guild members he cared about, " Schick added. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Helen and Bob's family."

A member of the Bristol County Striper Club, Jagolinzer often went fishing for striped bass and bluefish in Narragansett Bay, marina manager Elson said.

"He loved fishing, and if he had to go, I'm sure he'd say this probably isn't a bad place to go,'' he said.

-- With reports from projo.com staff