At 3:30 p.m., his wife saw him sitting on the dock near their Babylon home. At 3:56 p.m., someone at a nearby beach club found him floating lifelessly in the Great South Bay.

That's the 26-minute timeline police are examining as they await an autopsy of the man, Edward Dalton, 79, to help figure out what caused his death Saturday afternoon, Suffolk County police said.

Dalton, of Little East Neck Road, was pronounced dead at 4:46 p.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, where authorities rushed him after the discovery in the bay.

Dalton's widow could not be immediately reached for comment, and the club didn't return a message seeking comment late Saturday.

President and CEO of Nassau University Medical Center Thomas Stokes explains the problems caused by the aging infrastructure within the hospital. Newsday Associate Editor Joye Brown reports.  Credit: Newsday/Kendall Rodriguez

Inside look at NUMC's aging infrastructure President and CEO of Nassau University Medical Center Thomas Stokes explains the problems caused by the aging infrastructure within the hospital. Newsday Associate Editor Joye Brown reports.

President and CEO of Nassau University Medical Center Thomas Stokes explains the problems caused by the aging infrastructure within the hospital. Newsday Associate Editor Joye Brown reports.  Credit: Newsday/Kendall Rodriguez

Inside look at NUMC's aging infrastructure President and CEO of Nassau University Medical Center Thomas Stokes explains the problems caused by the aging infrastructure within the hospital. Newsday Associate Editor Joye Brown reports.

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