Cops: Report of missing swimmer is false alarm

Nassau police said a call about a missing swimmer was merely a false alarm.

Officer Mary Verna said at 7:40 p.m. on Saturday, a male swimmer was reported missing by his wife in Nickerson Beach.

But Verna said "it wasn't a drowning." Instead, he had been picked up by a boater while swimming on an inlet.

Police did not say whether the boater and the man knew each other.

One Nassau County Police Department helicopter was searching for him, Verna said, but he was found before the helicopter could spot him.

Verna confirmed he is an avid swimmer and added "when he didn't return, his wife called the police."