Suffolk police rescue Mastic man stranded on island

Suffolk County police rescued a man Sunday night who was stranded on Pattersquash Island in Moriches Bay.

Stephen Termini, 27, of Mastic, was rowing a 10-foot dingy in the Moriches Bay, about a quarter mile east of Smith Point Campground, around 5 p.m. when winds blew him into the island, police said in a news release. His boat got stuck in the marsh and he deployed a safety flare after a few hours.

Park rangers were notified after someone spotted Termini’s flare, the release stated. Two boats from the Suffolk County Marine Bureau found Termini around 8 p.m., waving and standing calf-deep in the marsh waters.

Officer Michael Cappiello disembarked from one of the boats because the water was too shallow for the craft to get any closer and Termini was too weak from hypothermia to walk alone, the release stated.

Members of the Mastic Beach Fire Department treated Termini for hypothermia at Smith Point Marina and he declined further treatment.