from LI Newsday, bummer

Two bodies recovered near Jones Beach



ERIK GERMAN
July 7, 2008

Authorities are investigating whether the bodies of two men recovered this weekend near Jones Beach are those of the Queens fishermen who set out in a canoe June 29 and have not been heard from since.

"Obviously that's certainly one of the main focuses of the investigation," said Richard O'Donnell, a spokesman for the New York State Parks Police. "We're conducting an investigation and we're attempting to identify them."

The two dead men were found without life jackets, Coast Guard officials said. The first body was discovered after it washed ashore Saturday near Coast Guard Station Jones Beach. Rescuers found the second around 11:30 a.m. yesterday near the third and final bridge before the Wantagh Parkway reaches Jones Beach State Park, Coast Guard officials said.

Both of the bodies are being held by the Nassau County medical examiner pending identification, O'Donnell said.

Family members of the fishermen asked authorities to begin searching for the men Wednesday, after they had not heard from the anglers for three days, Coast Guard officials said.

Initially, family members thought the men were fishing off Montauk, and a search focused there, the Coast Guard said. But when New York State Police found a vehicle matching the description of the anglers' van parked near Wantagh Bridge 3, the search focused there. The canoe was not found with the van.

The family has asked that the names of the fishermen be withheld, Coast Guard officials said.