NASSAU COUNTY, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — The body of the man who fell off a 25-foot sailboat in Oyster Bay Harbor earlier this month was recovered in Lloyd Neck Harbor, his family confirmed Monday.
Kate Koch, the mother of 19-year-old Jack Koch, said in a statement to Newsday that her son's body was found by a fisherman in the waters off Caumsett State Park.
"While our hearts are broken at the loss of Jack, we are relieved he has been returned to us and grateful for the outpouring of love, generosity, and support from our wonderful community," said Kate Koch in a statement provided to Newsday by a family friend, Kate Doerge. "Jack was the most loyal, kind, and hardworking young man and we will hold him in our hearts forever."
Police at the time said a 19-year-old man was on the sailboat with an 18-year-old friend in Oyster Bay Harbor when he fell overboard around 11:30 p.m. Monday. When the 18-year-old was unable to find the missing man, he called a friend, who took another boat to assist in the search.
The U.S. Coast Guard and police reported that after 911 was called, a multiagency search ensued, involving a Coast Guard small search boat from Station Eatons Neck, helicopters from Air Station Cape Cod and Air Station Atlantic City, as well as Nassau police Marine Bureau, Emergency Services and Aviation Bureau officers, the NYPD Aviation Bureau, Oyster Bay constables, and members of the Bayville, Oyster Bay, and Centre Island fire departments.
Nassau County police declined to comment to the outlet Monday.
The man was pronounced dead at Theodore Roosevelt Marina in Oyster Bay on Sunday, shortly after being recovered by Nassau County Marine Bureau officers and Oyster Bay constables.
The body was then transported to the Nassau County Medical Examiner’s Office for evaluation and identification.
It was the second body found in local water this month, following the death of South Shore speedboat racer James Jaronczyk, 28, who was flung off his 22-foot powerboat into the Great South Bay.
His body was recovered in the bay on May 11 after an extensive search, more than four days after he went overboard and not far from where he was reported missing, according to Suffolk County police.
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