Man spotted in river, thought dead but just napping

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (WHDH) -- A man got a little too relaxed in a river in Pennsylvania and police were called in got a bit of a wake-up call.

They were so convinced the man drowned - the coroner was there.

Instead, everyone watched as this river nightmare turned out to be just one long nap.

“It was a wonderful thing, "Apparently he wasn't dead!"

Sometimes, things aren't quite what they seem and, in this case, that's a good thing.

A man's body was discovered in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, just below a spill-dam, an area that's seen drownings before. Police and the coroner were on scene fully prepared to investigate a drowning.

Sue Hubbard was under that impression. She first spotted the man's body in shallow water.

"I saw him down there all by myself, and the second thought was, 'Oh, my gosh.,'" said Hubbard.

It wasn't long, though when suddenly, the man sat up! He was okay, just floating in the river on a hot summer's day. People who witnessed it couldn't believe it.

"We were standing here talking to you, all of a sudden he sat up, and apparently wasn't dead,” said witness Matthew Kranz.

"I said, ‘it's a miracle,’” Capt. Michael Orwig of the Williamsport Police said with a laugh. “I mean, it's great."

Onlookers noticed the man in the river was wearing a life jacket. They wondered how he got there if he was a drowning victim.

As it turns out, he was just out for an afternoon nap in the river.

"I was out like a light. But it was comfortable,” said Deangelo.

Joseph Deangelo fell asleep in the river and was oblivious to what was going on around him until a dragonfly landed on his nose.

"It was like laying on a cloud, I looked up at the clouds and was laying on a cloud, and it was a wonderful thing,” said Deangelo.

Deangelo said he was sorry for wasting everyone's time, but he was just living life the best way he knows how.

Everyone was just happy to see he's okay.