FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. -- A Mount Hope man has died during a swimming trip with his fiancée and her children in the New River.

New River Gorge National River Chief Ranger Jeff West says 43-year-old Dwayne Allen Cooper was about 15 feet out in the river when one of the children noticed Cooper had disappeared.

Cooper's fiancée ran from the beach out into the river and found Cooper, who was unconscious and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead Wednesday night at Plateau Medical Center in Oak Hill.