plugaholic
07-15-2011, 05:37 PM
Perth Amboy drowning victim identified by authorities
Published: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 5:37 PM Updated: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 5:37 PM
http://media.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/photo/9794078-large.pngGoogle Maps]
After fishing on the pier in the center of this image, two men jumped into the Arthur Kill Wednesday with the intentions of swimming to shore. A search was launched for the man who didn't make it.
PERTH AMBOY (http://www.nj.com/perth-amboy) — A man who drowned after he and a friend jumped off a pier in Perth Amboy into the Arthur Kill Wednesday was identified as a 45-year-old city resident.
Raul Ortega, 45, was pronounced dead at 1:05 a.m. today after city police recovered his body from the Arthur Kill about 50 feet from the pier, Deputy Police Chief Ben Ruiz said.
He said Ortega and Angel Mendez, 31, had been on a pier, which is under construction and closed to the public, behind the Harbortown housing development.
Police received reports about 9 p.m. Wednesday of two men struggling in the water, Ruiz said. He said it appeared the two men were trying to swim to nearby piers.
By chance, Perth Amboy firefighters were training on a fire department boat nearby and were able to rescue Mendez.
"He refused medical attention. He was very distraught about his friend," Ruiz said.
A search by city police and firefighters, New York police marine and air unit and the Coast Guard failed to locate Ortega until shortly before 1 a.m.
City police in a department boat, aided by a Coast Guard helicopter with a search light, found the victim and him to the area of the pier, where he was pronounced dead, the deputy chief said.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/perth_amboy_drowning_victim_id.html
Published: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 5:37 PM Updated: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 5:37 PM
http://media.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/photo/9794078-large.pngGoogle Maps]
After fishing on the pier in the center of this image, two men jumped into the Arthur Kill Wednesday with the intentions of swimming to shore. A search was launched for the man who didn't make it.
PERTH AMBOY (http://www.nj.com/perth-amboy) — A man who drowned after he and a friend jumped off a pier in Perth Amboy into the Arthur Kill Wednesday was identified as a 45-year-old city resident.
Raul Ortega, 45, was pronounced dead at 1:05 a.m. today after city police recovered his body from the Arthur Kill about 50 feet from the pier, Deputy Police Chief Ben Ruiz said.
He said Ortega and Angel Mendez, 31, had been on a pier, which is under construction and closed to the public, behind the Harbortown housing development.
Police received reports about 9 p.m. Wednesday of two men struggling in the water, Ruiz said. He said it appeared the two men were trying to swim to nearby piers.
By chance, Perth Amboy firefighters were training on a fire department boat nearby and were able to rescue Mendez.
"He refused medical attention. He was very distraught about his friend," Ruiz said.
A search by city police and firefighters, New York police marine and air unit and the Coast Guard failed to locate Ortega until shortly before 1 a.m.
City police in a department boat, aided by a Coast Guard helicopter with a search light, found the victim and him to the area of the pier, where he was pronounced dead, the deputy chief said.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/perth_amboy_drowning_victim_id.html