Swimmer Rescued By Boogie Boarder Off Seaside Park

SEASIDE PARK, NJ ? A Bergen County man was rescued from the ocean off Seaside Park on Tuesday afternoon by a Good Samaritan and lifeguards, Seaside Park police said.

The 81-year-old man was swimming at the O Street beach about 2:55 p.m. when people onshore saw he was in distress, Seaside Park Sgt. Andrew Casole said Tuesday night.

The man was about 200 yards offshore and was drifting toward Stockton Avenue when a Good Samaritan with a boogie board swam out to the man and pulled him onto the boogie board so the man didn't go underwater, Casole said.

The boogie boarder, Michael Lantz of Bayville, said members of the Seaside Park Fire Department were patrolling the beach and saw the man struggling.

"I noticed other beachgoers looking out in the distance with binoculars, that's when I noticed splashing," Lantz said. He grabbed his boogie board and fins and swam out to the man.

"He was exhausted and floating on his back," Lantz said. "He rested on my board til more help arrived, lifeguards responded pulling him from the water with the jetski."

Seaside Heights Water Rescue arrived on a jetski and brought the man to shore, Casole said.

The man was semi-conscious when he was brought to shore and was taken to the hospital for treatment, Casole said. He did not have an update on the man's condition.

Casole said a report of a swimmer in distress on Friday that led to a nearly five-hour search by the U.S. Coast Guard turned out to be unfounded.

"It appears they misjudged the swimmer?s proficiency," he said.