Copiague's Amadeus Lacz rescued, Przemyslaw Krysiak missing after canoe overturns, police say

One man was hospitalized with hypothermia and another man remained missing Monday after police said the canoe the two men were in overturned in the waters off Tanner Park in Copiague.

Suffolk County police said the two, identified as Amadeus Lacz, 23, and Przemyslaw Krysiak, 25, both of Copiague, left Tanner Park in the canoe at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday. A family member of one of the men called 911 to report them missing at about 1:55 a.m. Monday.

Aviation Section officers spotted Lacz on one of the islands that dot that area of South Oyster Bay and police said he was rescued by Marine Bureau officers and then transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of hypothermia.

Police said Krysiak remained missing late Monday morning.

It was unclear if either man was wearing a life vest. The exact area where the canoe overturned and how it might have overturned also were unclear. 

According to weather information available for the area, the water temperature in South Oyster Bay/Great South Bay on Monday was between 58 and 61 degrees, depending on the buoy location.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”