2 swimmers missing from Jones Beach
The tragedies are just starting, be careful out there fellas.
May 27, 2010 1:51 pm US/Eastern
Two Swimmers Missing, Presumed Drowned
Rip Currents Blamed For Missing Swimmer; Many Others Rescued By Surfers; Sunbather Run Over By Police SUV
Young Man's Last Words Before Drowning 'I Can't Swim'
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Magee Hickey
JONES BEACH, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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The search has changed from a rescue mission to a recovery effort at Jones Beach Thursday morning, as two young men are presumed drowned in two separate incidents on Long Island beaches. CBS
The search has changed from a rescue mission to a recovery effort at Jones Beach Thursday morning, as two young men are presumed drowned in two separate incidents on Long Island beaches, both blamed on rip tides after the first summer-like day of the swimming season.
At Jones Beach, a 23-year-old man went into the water at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday with two friends, but he never came out.
A few hours earlier in Long Beach a 19-year-old Brooklyn man was wading about knee-deep in the water with three friends, but the strong current off the jetty soon sucked all four of them out to sea.
Only three of them could swim.
Officials this morning will be reassessing the riptide and determining if it's still dangerous. If so, they'll post police to try to keep swimmers out of the water.
"Tragically, his last words before being swept under -- or when all four of them were swept under -- was him telling his friends he could not swim," Long Beach City Manager Charles Theofan said.
"We have not been able to find him. We are now switching to a recovery mode," Long Beach Fire Chief Scott Kenins said.
"Unfortunately, not even the best swimmer could survive in water that rough and that cold," Theofan said.
Theofan said officially 10 people were rescued by authorities Wednesday, but added several others were plucked from the dangerous rip currents by surfers.
In the chaos there was a freak accident when a police officer responding to a swimmer in distress ran over a sunbather with his SUV.
"I walked over and the guy had tire tracks across his back," Baldwin resident Scott Segal said.
The man was airlifted to the hospital with a fractured spine and ribs. The injuries were said to not be life threatening. A thorough review of the incident will take place.
"Just so the fact we're not accused of investigating ourselves we have called in the (Nassau) County Accident Investigation Unit," Theofan said.
Crowds cleared and darkness brought a frustrating end to the search, the missing swimmer still somewhere beneath the waves.
Swimming is prohibited at Jones Beach Thursday, and police will be present to distribute summonses to those who enter the water.
