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Pittsfield and Stockbridge firefighters search Silver Lake in boats for a person who went missing and was last reported going into the lake. Searchers have been at the Pittsfield lake most of the day.
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A helicopter circles the lake, located off East Street.
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Personnel from a number of city departments and surrounding communities were working the search. Silver Lake Boulevard was closed off.

First-Responders Search for Missing Person at Silver Lake

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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Mayor Linda Tyer is updated on the search Tuesday afternoon. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police and multiple other first-responder units have been searching Silver Lake for a missing person for the majority of the day.

The police got a report around noon on Tuesday that there may be a person in the lake and set up a command center on location within the hour.  

Cpt. Gary Traversa said police have evidence to support that this may have been the person's last location.

"We're still looking. Obviously, this is a combination of missing persons, response to a family concern, so, no, we don't have anything concrete," he said late Tuesday afternoon.

"We are doing this by the numbers, utilizing the additional resources that we have at our disposal, and they've been kind of building off once we exhaust one avenue or we've gotten to a certain point be bring in another resource."

Search and rescue boats could be seen in the water as well as a helicopter circling the area.

Silver Lake Boulevard is blocked off for the search, which is being conducted by personnel from the Police and Fire Departments, the Berkshire Dive Team, Berkshire County Sheriff's Office, the Hinsdale Rehab Unit, and Stockbridge Fire Department, with an ambulance on standby.


Traversa said the first responders will be there until the agencies say that there is nothing else they can do. The person reportedly went missing within the last 24 hours.

Mayor Linda Tyer was at the scene later in the afternoon. The police said she wanted to come down and provide any support she could for the agencies there.

Earlier in the afternoon, a despondent individual was atop the bridge that goes over Fourth Street threatening to jump off. Responders, including a clinician, were able to talk the person off the bridge and transport them to the crisis department.

The incident was resolved by around 2:15 p.m.

During this time, that area of Fourth street was blocked off.

 


Tags: missing persons,   search,   

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Pittsfield Holds Second Master Plan Workshop

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Participants added notes to the sectors  such as transportation, open space and neighborhoods  being reviewed by the Master Plan Steering Committee. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The city is about halfway through developing its new master plan, and held a second community workshop this past Thursday. 

"Basically, we're talking to people from Pittsfield and trying to figure out, among a broad sector of issues that affect us, what is our goal and vision for the next 10 years, where we want Pittsfield to be in 10 years, and what changes do we want to see?" Director of Community Development Justine Dodds explained to about 20 community members and city staff at Conte Community School. 

"That will be broken down into some goals and objectives and then some measurable action items that we can all take as a community to move that forward."  

The Pittsfield Master Plan is the policy guide for future physical development, covering land use, infrastructure, sustainability, and more. The plan was last updated in 2009, and Pittsfield has engaged the VHB engineering firm and CommunityScale consultants to bring it through 2036. 

There have been two public listening sessions, a Master Plan Advisory Committee guiding the work, and small focus groups for each section. On poster boards, residents were able to see and mark the draft goals and actions under six themes: economic development, housing opportunities, transportation and infrastructure, environment and open space, neighborhoods and community, and governance and collaboration. 

In November 2025, community members participated in a similar exercise at City Hall. 

Transportation and infrastructure had several notes on them. Suggestions included using infrastructure to address the urban heat island effect, a light rail system, and continuing to implement Complete Streets standards for roadway construction projects. 

"I want to ride my bike to my friend's house safely," one respondent wrote. 

Under economic development, people suggested digital business infrastructure for the downtown, food hall opportunities, and nightlife opportunities. 

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