Police search for missing swimmer at Robert Moses

A group of beachgoers alerted police that a swimmer might be lost in waters off the Robert Moses State Park beach Thursday night, but an extensive search by numerous emergency search units found no one, police said.

The search, which began off Field 5 began shortly after 8 p.m., was suspended about 10 p.m., state park police said. Authorities said they would resume the search early Friday morning, although it was possible that no one was ever there or in distress.

State Park Police Sgt. Anthony Astacio said, that from the beach, "Several people saw what they believed to be a man with dark hair floating on his back, 200- to 300- yards off shore ... They were concerned because he was so far out and it was getting dark."

At least one of the persons in the group said he thought they were wrong, and what they saw might have been something else, not a man, Astacio said. But after the group of 5 or 6 people lost sight of the object or person, they decided to call 911, as a precaution, he said.

State Park police, the Coast Guard, the Suffolk Marine Bureau and a Suffolk police helicopter responded to the area and conducted the search, but nothing was found Thursday night, Astacio said.