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Search for missing swimmer ends in tragedy

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The search for a missing swimmer in Long Beach ended in tragedy on Monday, after police determined that the man had emerged from the water but later jumped to his death from a hotel in Rockville Centre.

Police Commissioner Mike Tangney said that the victim — a 54-year-old Long Beach resident, who was last seen entering the ocean at Franklin Boulevard beach on Sunday night — came out of the water and even observed rescuers during their search, which was called off on Monday morning.

“He got out of the water, and he observed us searching for him,” Tangney said.

The man, who police have not identified, later checked into a hotel room in Rockville Centre and jumped to his death, according to Tangney and another official with knowledge of the incident.

Nassau County police confirmed that the man jumped from the roof of the Best Western, at 173 Sunrise Highway, at 6:33 a.m. Police said that the victim was found lying in the parking lot.

"The investigation determined that the man had jumped from the roof of the building," Nassau County police said in a statement. "He was pronounced [dead] at scene by Northwell EMS."

Three officials with knowledge of the incident said that police determined it was the same man based on information retrieved from the victim’s cell phone.

"Additional information discovered through phone records concluded that this individual is the same person reported missing on Sunday...in Long Beach," Nassau County police said.

The circumstances surrounding the man's death were still unclear on Monday, and police did not provide further details.

After the Long Beach Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard spent hours searching for a missing swimmer — who reportedly entered the water on Sunday night and did not resurface — the units called off the operation Monday morning.

Two witnesses on the beach reported seeing a man enter the ocean just east of the Franklin Boulevard jetties at 9:57 p.m., according to Long Beach Fire Commissioner Scott Kemins, and stated that they never saw him come out of the water.

A Long Beach Fire Department Water Rescue Unit, as well as off-duty members of the Long Beach Lifeguard Patrol, began a full-scale search and rescue operation in response to the eyewitness account, Kemins said. They scanned the water between Neptune and Lincoln boulevards for about 90 minutes, he added.

“We were never 100 percent sure somebody was actually still in the water,” Kemins said, “but with the credible witness account, we were obligated to commence the search and rescue operation.”

Members of the Long Beach Police Department and Oceanside Fire Department Water Rescue Team assisted in the effort, and boats from the Coast Guard, Atlantic Beach Rescue Unit, and Lawrence-Cedarhurst and Freeport fire departments surveyed the waters. Nassau County and New York City Police also assisted with helicopters.

After approximately two hours, all land operations were ceased and the recovery effort was turned over to the Coast Guard, Kemins said. They continued the search early Monday morning before calling it off at about 9 a.m.

The witnesses described the man as white, approximately 6-feet-tall and 180 pounds, and wearing just shorts, Kemins said. No missing persons report had been filed.