Skip to main content

Body Found on Beach Was Missing Kayaker

Mon, 11/28/2022 - 15:01
Police released this photo of Dario Cholula after he went missing on Oct. 19.

A body that washed up on the beach at the Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island on Nov. 8 has been identified by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office as Dario Cholula. 

Mr. Cholula, a 31-year-old Queens man who was working on a construction site in North Haven, went missing on Oct. 19 during a solo nighttime kayak fishing trip. He had launched the kayak almost directly across from where his body was eventually found. 

His body victim was discovered at Smith Cove, a popular deep-water anchorage in the summer season. The cove is located on the preserve’s southwest side, across the water from North Haven. 

The body was sent to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office, which notified the Southampton Town Police Department late last week that it had positively identified it as that of Mr. Cholula. 

“Although it was not the outcome we were hoping for, it provided closure for the family,” Lt. Susan Ralph, a Southampton Town Police spokeswoman, said via email.

The kayak that Mr. Cholula was fishing from had been discovered on a North Haven beach on Oct. 20, partially overturned and with a fishing pole inside it. 

Fire in an Amagansett Woodworking Shop

Flames extending 30 feet in the air were reported last week during a raging fire on Bunker Hill Road in Amagansett.

Apr 9, 2026

On the Police Logs 04.02.26

Someone claiming to be in the fraud division at her bank called a local woman telling her she needed to wire money to a Bronx address, which she did. It happened again the next day with a different bank, but Wells Fargo’s actual fraud department caught it.

Apr 2, 2026

Indicted in Rape of a Child

A Springs man charged recently with felony sexual abuse of a child has been indicted by a grand jury and is being held in police custody in high bail.

Apr 2, 2026

Allege Felony Sexual Abuse

Justice David Filer ordered a local man held at $250,000 bail after town police accused him of sexual abuse.

Apr 2, 2026

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.