Update, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 3 p.m.: The search for a man who went missing in the ocean in front of the Windward Shores resort on Napeague continued throughout the afternoon Tuesday.
According to East Hampton Town police, the man, a 23-year-old from New York City, was swimming with friends in front of the resort. "Witnesses report that two men appeared to be struggling while swimming in the surf before being pulled under," town police said in a press release. One of them was pulled from the water "before regaining consciousness" and transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. Divers, ocean lifeguards, police, marine patrol, and the Coast Guard searched for the second swimmer for hours without success.
Original, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1:03 p.m.: Emergency personnel were searching Tuesday afternoon for a missing swimmer off the ocean beach at the Windward Shores resort on Napeague.
A second swimmer had already been pulled from the water and taken by ambulance to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. That person's condition was not immediately known.
An initial call for help went out just before 12:30 p.m. First responders from the Amagansett and Montauk Fire Departments were on the scene. Divers were assisting and the Coast Guard had been called. The missing swimmer was described as a 5-foot-5-inch white male with long black hair who had "multiple tattoos" and was wearing fluorescent-colored swim trunks. A friend of his who contacted The Star later, said that the description they provided to police differed from the one broadcast on the emergency scanner. He was Korean, the friend said, stood 5-foot-6 and was "covered in tattoos."
At about 1 p.m., a Coast Guard aircraft was at the scene and a Suffolk County Police helicopter was also involved in the search. According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, seas were about three feet with the wind from the southwest. At ocean beaches in East Hampton lifeguard were displaying yellow flags, indicating the possibility of rip currents and unsafe conditions for inexperienced swimmers.
The search was still in progress at 2:10 p.m.
This is a developing story.
With Reporting by David E. Rattray
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Note: This article has been updated to reflect a description of the missing swimmer provided by a friend of his who was on the scene on Tuesday.
