Waters off Long Beach Boulevard, where a swimmer went missing...

Waters off Long Beach Boulevard, where a swimmer went missing on Monday in Long Beach. Credit: Howard Schnapp

A body was found floating near the shoreline early Wednesday in Long Beach, about 48 hours after a swimmer went missing, Long Beach police said.

A police spokesman declined to say whether the body was that of Neil Gibbons, 30, a visitor from Ireland who was reported missing about 2 a.m. Monday.

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A body was found floating near the shoreline early Wednesday in Long Beach, about 48 hours after a swimmer went missing, Long Beach police said.

A police spokesman declined to say whether the body was that of Neil Gibbons, 30, a visitor from Ireland who was reported missing about 2 a.m. Monday.

The body was spotted by a couple walking on the beach about 1 a.m. Wednesday, police said. It was then sent to the Nassau County medical examiner's office for identification.

Gibbons was swimming with a group of friends who had gone into the water. The other swimmers came to shore and noticed Gibbons was missing, the U.S. Coast Guard said at the time.