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Body Recovered On Charles Island Off Silver Sands State Park

MILFORD, Conn. — A body was located on the shore of Charles Island off Silver Sands State Park, and officials were trying to determine whether it was a Bridgeport man who was swept off a sandbar there last week, Milford police said via Twitter.

A body recovered Sunday evening on Charles Island off the coast of Silver Sands State Park in Milford may be that of a missing Bridgeport man, police said.

A body recovered Sunday evening on Charles Island off the coast of Silver Sands State Park in Milford may be that of a missing Bridgeport man, police said.

Photo Credit: File

The body was removed to the beach at Silver Sands Beach on Sunday evening by officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Milford Fire Department and the Milford Police Department, police said via Twitter.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has been notified, police said.

Officials say it could be the body of George Swaby, a 28-year-old Bridgeport man who went missing in the waters of Long Island Sound early Friday afternoon.  

Related story: Search Resumes Saturday For Bridgeport Man Swept Off Sandbar At State Park

A 911 caller reported the body, which fit the description of Swaby, at about 6 p.m. Sunday, the Stratford Star said. 

On Friday, Swaby and another man biked to Silver Sands State Park from Stratford, police said. They began walking on the sandbar from the shore out to Charles Island when they were knocked by a wave into the waters of Long Island Sound at about 12:45 p.m. Friday, police said.

At about 1 p.m., Milford Police received a call about two men in distress in the water off Charles Island. One man was pulled from the water by a private boater and safely brought back to shore, police said.

But the other man, Swaby, was not found despite a multi-agency water rescue effort that included a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, Stratford Police, Milford police and Milford Fire Department divers, police said.

The search continued until dusk on Friday and continued for much of Saturday, police said. 

The incident took place outside the designated swimming areas at the beach, and there were no lifeguards on duty, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said.

Posted signs on the beach warn visitors not to go out on the sandbar when any part of it is covered by water.

Click here for the Stratford Star story.

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