Body of missing Fire I. swimmer found

The body of a swimmer who was reported missing before dawn off Fire Island was discovered midmorning Tuesday washed up on a beach near Davis Park East, officials said.

Suffolk County police identified the body as that of the missing swimmer by his tattoos and the color of his swim trunks.

Police earlier said they would not give the name of the man, 26, pending notification of next of kin.

After the body was discovered, the Coast Guard and police called off an intensive, desperate search that began almost immediately after the man disappeared in the waters off Ocean Beach early Tuesday.

The man's body remained on the beach, covered by a tarp, Tuesday afternoon as law enforcement officials shooed away curious beachgoers.

Officials said the man and a friend had gone for a swim in the Atlantic off Bayberry Walk. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound received an emergency call from the man's friend at about 2:45 a.m. saying he had disappeared in the water, officials said.

A rescue boat was immediately launched from Coast Guard Station Fire Island, and a rescue helicopter was dispatched from the Coast Guard air station on Cape Cod.

Suffolk police also dispatched search crews.

A Coast Guard spokesman told Newsday that searchers covered 21 square nautical miles, but said they were hampered by less-than-ideal conditions, with winds of 15 to 18 knots and 4- to 6-foot seas.

With Candice Ruud