Coast Guard calls off search for swimmer in Long Beach

The U.S. Coast Guard said it called off its search Monday morning for a man reported missing in the ocean off Long Beach.

“There was no missing persons report, and after using all our resources to search by sea and air we have suspended operations,” Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier said.

He said the search was called off about 9 a.m. after a Coast Guard airplane from Cape Cad had joined the search at daylight.

The search began shortly 11 p.m. Sunday after Long Beach police said they got a call at 9:57 p.m. about a male who went into the water in the vicinity of 10-20 Franklin Blvd., but had not re-emerged. Two men on the beach reported seeing a white male, about 6 feet tall and 180 to 200 pounds, enter the water, authorities said.

Police said they conducted a search by air and water for nearly 90 minutes before turning over the search to the Coast Guard.

The Marine Unit of the Nassau County Police Department and first responders from the Cedarhurst-Lawrence Fire Department and Atlantic Beach Fire Department had also assisted in the search, the Coast Guard said.

Another Coast Guard spokesman, Dustin James, said earlier Monday that the people on the beach were concerned about rip currents when they saw the man enter the water.

They walked out on a breakwater to check his location and could not see him, James said.

There was a moderate risk of rip current in the area at the time, the National Weather Service said. A high-risk advisory had been lifted at 4:17 p.m. Sunday and a moderate risk remained in effect early Monday.