Mayor: Massachusetts pool where body was found needs permit to reopen

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- A Massachusetts mayor says a public pool where a woman's body may have gone unnoticed by lifeguards for more than two days won't receive his permission to reopen without assurances from state officials it would be safe.

A spokeswoman for Fall River Mayor William Flanagan's office said Friday the mayor wants assurances from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation proper safety procedures are in place.

Investigators are poring over surveillance video and conducting interviews as they try to figure out what happened to 36-year-old Marie Joseph. Police say her body was found Tuesday night when youngsters jumped over a fence for a clandestine swim.

Joseph was from Haiti and had five children.

She worked as a hotel housekeeper in Newport, R.I.

Authorities say her body may have gone unnoticed by lifeguards, health in- spectors and even swimmers.