NJ High School Senior Drowns After Trying to Retrieve Kids’ Ball from Pond

NEW MILFORD — A high school senior was laid to rest Monday after drowning in a pond Friday night.

New Milford police said they were called about 7:15 PM on a report that an 18-year-old man did not resurface after going into the Hardcastle Pond.

His body was recovered around 10 PM by one of the several water search and rescue teams that responded.

A resident of the neighboring Dorchester Manor Apartments told NorthJersey.com he saw Clinten Ajit go into the pond to retrieve a soccer ball for some kids.

A planned out future

A GoFundMe page identified the victim as a New Milford High School senior who was planning to study criminal justice at Montclair State University.

Ajit moved to the United States from India with his parents in 2012, according to the GoFundMe page.

"He enjoyed participating in musical theater, band, and various sports. Clinten was an intelligent, humorous, and kind young man," organizer Gabriella George wrote.

Ajit's funeral was held Monday at St. Peter's Mar Thoma Church in Washington Township, Bergen County. Members of the band played during the funeral and his wake service on Sunday.

"Sometimes the very last thing one says or one does is a testament to who they really are. I believe his last actions were simply to help, to serve, and to do what he could for someone else," the Rev. Jaisen A. Thomas said during Clinten's funeral.

"His love, his memory and his character will leave a lasting legacy. A model for all of us and especially for the family."