Multiple people called 911 around 6:45 p.m. Friday, including one person who said Marrero was trying to save her child.
“He went under trying to save my daughter,” she said, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records.
Additional people tried to help, but weren’t able to get him, she added.
“We went over to the little waterfall right here and my daughter fell in off the tube,” the caller said. “He got her and he was trying to get her, he ended up letting go of her and I went and saved my daughter and he went under.”
When asked by dispatch how long he was in the water, the caller said at least five minutes.
Dayton Fire Department Assistant Chief Brad French said crews immediately deployed boats in the river upon arrival and started searching the shoreline.
“After approximately one hour of search efforts, divers from the Wright-Patterson AFB Fire Department located and removed an adult male victim from the water,” he said.
Marrero was found at 8:08 p.m. and removed from the river at 8:10 p.m., according to dispatch records.
The Dayton Police Department, Fiver Rivers MetroParks rangers, Riverside Fire Department and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources also assisted in the search and recovery efforts.
The incident is under investigation by Five Rivers MetroParks.
Staff writer Kristen Spicker contributed to this report.