Cops: Shark sighted off Cupsogue Beach

Authorities have banned people from the water at Cupsogue Beach County Park after a shark sighting there, a police dispatcher said Tuesday evening.

"The water is off limits," said the dispatcher, who wouldn't give her name.

A police officer is on scene enforcing the closure, she said.

According to The Associated Press, West Hampton Dunes Police Sgt. Tim Turner said reports of the sharks in the water came in at about 3 p.m. Tuesday. He said there were several sharks within 15 feet of the shore.

A spokesman for Suffolk County police said the department provided a helicopter to search for the shark.

Cupsogue is a 296-acre barrier-beach park in Westhampton.