Murphy

BARRINGTON — Searchers yesterday afternoon recovered the body of a local high school student who disappeared Tuesday evening while skimming along the Barrington River on a kneeboard, a small surfboard that is ridden while kneeling.

The police said alcohol “definitely” contributed to the death of Patrick Murphy, 17, of 15 Noble Ave., who would have entered his senior year at Barrington High School in September. He was not wearing a life vest.

The driver of the boat that was towing him, Ryan A. Greenberg, also 17, of 33 Lamson Rd., was cited by the Department of Environmental Management with reckless boating and refusing to submit to a chemical test.

Barrington Police Chief John M. LaCross said Greenberg failed a field sobriety test, alcohol was found on the vessel and that other charges could be filed as a result of the tragedy.

Murphy was the son of John F. Murphy Jr. and Phoebe M. Murphy, the men’s and women’s crew coaches at Brown University. They had been in England until this week as their crews rowed in the famous Henley Royal Regatta.

“He was a wonderful young man,” said Principal John Gray. Staff members said he was a good student, “a delight to have in class, a member of both the cross-country and lacrosse teams” and, not surprisingly, had an interest in rowing.

Although school is not in session, Gray said the high school “will have a guidance counselor and student assistance counselor [today] just in the event there are kids who need to talk, want a place to go.”

Teenage drinking has long been a problem in town, something LaCross has tried to battle with extra police patrols on Friday and Saturday nights, and routine checks of beaches, wooded areas and other places where youths try to drink surreptitiously.

“It’s a real cat-and-mouse game,” said Kathleen Sullivan, coordinator of the town’s substance-abuse task force, which is also known as the Barrington Adult Youth (BAY) Team.

The high school has also had its share of tragedy in recent years. A little over two years ago, Zachary Stiness and Michael Neubauer, who would have graduated in June, were killed in an accident that may have involved alcohol.

LaCross said some questions about Tuesday’s incident remain, and he asked any witnesses to come forward.

One unresolved issue is how quickly the 911 emergency line was called after Murphy apparently wiped out and vanished beneath the waves.

“We’re trying to get that timeline together,” the chief said.

The emergency call came in around 7:30 p.m., according to Barrington Fire Chief Gerald Bes-sette.

Immediately after the disappearance, more than 50 boats, including harbormasters, the DEM and various fire departments, searched the water for the teen.

Gray, who lives on the river, said he knew there was a problem Tuesday night when he heard the search helicopters overhead. He and his two assistant principals visited spots along the river, where students and parents had gathered, having heard that Murphy was missing.

“There were a lot of kids out there and they were very emotional,” he recalled.

Crews worked into the night without success.

Yesterday, officials ordered most of the boats off the river to clear the air so body-sniffing dogs could be brought in.

“They had a couple of hits; we sent in the state police dive team,” LaCross said.

A systematic search of those areas by divers uncovered Murphy’s body below the surface around 2:45 p.m., about 100 yards north of the East Bay Bike Path bridge near the bridge at County Road.

LaCross declined to say whether Greenberg had any past troubles with his department, saying such records were confidential.

But court records show Family Court Chief Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah Jr. issued a restraining order in February that prohibited Greenberg from having any contact with another Barrington teenager, Catherine C. Morris.

The judge later issued a second restraining order barring Morris from having any contact with Greenberg.

The girl’s mother, Lynn M. Morris, filed a complaint Feb. 6, saying, “My daughter Catherine Case Morris has been involved in a toxic relationship with Ryan Greenberg for four years.”

The complaint says, “In October 2006, it was told to me by witnesses that he had pushed her after a verbal argument causing bruising down the side of her arm. On Dec. 29, 2006, he trapped her in her car with a friend, screaming that she had been talking to other boys — banging on all the windows and finally smashing her back window.”

Also, the complaint says, “He has recently been arrested by the Barrington police for having a fake ID and purchasing large amounts of alcohol. Given his anger and his abuse of alcohol, I am terrified for my daughter. I feel I need to protect her. I have heard him threaten her life.”

Jeremiah issued a restraining order against Greenberg that was to remain in effect until June 27, and the judge ordered Greenberg to receive “anger management counseling,” court records show.

Greenberg’s father, Gary M. Greenberg, filed a complaint Feb. 28, saying, “My son Ryan Greenberg has been involved in a relationship with Catherine Morris. Catherine has repeatedly called Ryan 4 or 5 times daily. There is a restraining order against Ryan Greenberg. She is harassing Ryan, therefore I request a restraining order be issued against her.”

Jeremiah issued a restraining order against Morris, 17, and ordered her to attend a “victim’s program at Butler Hospital,” court records show.

LaCross confirmed that his department had received a copy of the restraining order against Greenberg, but declined comment on whether Greenberg had been charged with having a fake ID or purchasing alcohol.

Greenberg’s lawyer in the Family Court matter could not be rea-ched for comment.

Sullivan, who has been trying for years to reduce teen drinking in town, expressed frustration, saying that Barrington was in denial when it comes to underage drinking, both on the part of students and their parents.

“There is a real attitude in this community that teens will drink, and it’s a real challenge to try to change that,” she said.

A lot of teens get alcohol from home or from young adults buying it for them. “Some even drive to Providence to those mom-and-pop liquor stores,” Sullivan said. “And it’s some serious alcohol, bottles of vodka and rum. It’s not just a six-pack anymore.”

Barrington has no liquor stores.

With reports by staff writers Edward Fitzpatrick and Meaghan Wims

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