Amusedtdth
07-29-2008, 02:39 PM
By Michelle Sahn • STAFF WRITER • July 29, 2008
video at link.
LONG BRANCH — Police are working to identify the man whose body washed ashore near the Madison Avenue beach Monday morning.
A woman who was walking on the boardwalk spotted the body in the sand near a jetty around 7:45 a.m. and dialed 911, Long Branch Police Detective Sgt. Fernando Sanders said. There was "no documentation or identification with this male," Sanders said.
Long Branch police and investigators from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office were at the scene taking pictures and gathering evidence. Yellow police tape was strung around the scene. At one point, officials raised a tarp around the body to shield it from view.
High tide was at 4:17 a.m. Monday, and because the unclothed body was found away from the water line, police believe the man's body washed ashore around high tide.
The man was likely white or Hispanic, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed about 200 pounds and about 40 years old, First Assistant Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw Jr. said.
Sanders said the rough surf made it difficult to say where the body came from.
"With the way the currents are . . . and with the strong tides from the storms that are brewing offshore, it could possibly be from any place," he said.
Several storms have swept through Monmouth and Ocean counties in recent days, churning up the water and creating rip currents throughout the Shore area. A violent storm on Sunday left one man dead after he was struck by lightning on Sandy Hook. Two others were injured by the lightning strike.
In addition, a number of swimmers were swept away and drowned in rough surf off beaches in Coney Island and Long Island.
Gary Conte, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said a couple of factors were at play: The jet stream is farther south than usual, which leads to conditions in which strong rip currents are possible, and the early part of the hurricane season has been more active than usual.
"Those conditions are favorable for more, and more intense, rip tides," he said, adding that the conditions were likely to remain for the next two weeks, making it possible for more rip currents to occur.
Detectives are trying to track down leads about the identity of the Long Branch body, and anyone with information is asked to call police (732) 222-1000.
Staff photographer Thomas P. Costello and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/NEWS/807290440&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
video at link.
LONG BRANCH — Police are working to identify the man whose body washed ashore near the Madison Avenue beach Monday morning.
A woman who was walking on the boardwalk spotted the body in the sand near a jetty around 7:45 a.m. and dialed 911, Long Branch Police Detective Sgt. Fernando Sanders said. There was "no documentation or identification with this male," Sanders said.
Long Branch police and investigators from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office were at the scene taking pictures and gathering evidence. Yellow police tape was strung around the scene. At one point, officials raised a tarp around the body to shield it from view.
High tide was at 4:17 a.m. Monday, and because the unclothed body was found away from the water line, police believe the man's body washed ashore around high tide.
The man was likely white or Hispanic, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed about 200 pounds and about 40 years old, First Assistant Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw Jr. said.
Sanders said the rough surf made it difficult to say where the body came from.
"With the way the currents are . . . and with the strong tides from the storms that are brewing offshore, it could possibly be from any place," he said.
Several storms have swept through Monmouth and Ocean counties in recent days, churning up the water and creating rip currents throughout the Shore area. A violent storm on Sunday left one man dead after he was struck by lightning on Sandy Hook. Two others were injured by the lightning strike.
In addition, a number of swimmers were swept away and drowned in rough surf off beaches in Coney Island and Long Island.
Gary Conte, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said a couple of factors were at play: The jet stream is farther south than usual, which leads to conditions in which strong rip currents are possible, and the early part of the hurricane season has been more active than usual.
"Those conditions are favorable for more, and more intense, rip tides," he said, adding that the conditions were likely to remain for the next two weeks, making it possible for more rip currents to occur.
Detectives are trying to track down leads about the identity of the Long Branch body, and anyone with information is asked to call police (732) 222-1000.
Staff photographer Thomas P. Costello and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/NEWS/807290440&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL