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Search Intensifies For Man Swept Off Sandbar On Long Island Sound

The search resumed Saturday in the waters of Long Island Sound for the body of a 28-year-old man who was swept by a wave off a sandbar at Silver Sands State Park as he walked from the shore out to Charles Island, according to multiple media reports. 

A man was reported missing in the waters of the Long Island Sound off Silver Sands State Park in Connecticut.

A man was reported missing in the waters of the Long Island Sound off Silver Sands State Park in Connecticut.

Photo Credit: State Of Connecticut

The man, now identified by police as 28-year-old George Swaby of Bridgeport, is presumed dead, according to NBC Connecticut.

Officials searched for hours Friday until it was dark, and the search, now called a recovery effort, resumed Saturday morning.

The Milford Fire Department began the search Saturday morning, and the Milford Police Marine Unit will take over the search in the afternoon, according to the Milford Mirror.

Swaby and another man had biked to Silver Sands from Stratford on Friday. They began walking on the sandbar from the shore out to Charles Island when they were knocked by a wave into the waters of Long Island Sound, police said.

At about 1 p.m., Milford Police received a call about two men in distress off Charles Island. One man was located by a private boater, pulled from the water and safely brought back to shore, police said.

But the other man, Swaby, was not found despite a multi-agency water rescue effort that included a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, Stratford Police, Milford police and Milford Fire Department divers, police said via Facebook.

The incident took place outside the designated swimming areas and there were no lifeguards on duty, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection told NBC Connecticut.

Signs are posted warning visitors not to go out on the sandbar when any part of it is covered by water. 

Click here for the NBC Connecticut story, and click here for the Milford Mirror story.

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