Man Whose Body Discovered On Charles Island Sandbar Sunday Identified: Report

MILFORD, CT — The body that washed ashore on the Charles Island sandbar Sunday evening has been identified as George Swaby, 28, of Bridgeport, who was reported missing after a wave knocked him off the sandbar leading to Charles Island just before 1 p.m. Friday, the Connecticut Post reports.

The Medical Examiner's Office concluded that Swaby died of accidental drowning, the Post reports. Crews spent hours searching for Swaby on Friday and Saturday but they couldn't find him. Milford police and fire officials said Sunday that a body had washed up on the Charles Island sandbar Sunday.

Swaby and a friend rode bikes from Stratford to Milford and walked out onto the sandbar leading to Charles Island when a wave knocked both men off and into the water. A private vessel rescued one man, who was wearing a life vest while Swaby, who had a backpack, fell underwater and had been reported missing since Sunday afternoon. Both men couldn't swim, officials have said.

On Sunday, Milford Fire Battalion Chief Anthony Fabrizi said a body fitting the description of a man who was swept off of the Charles Island sandbar in Milford Friday had been recovered. The body appeared on the sandbar 6 p.m. Sunday. At the time Fabrizi said the body matches the description provided by family members.

"Visitors to Silver Sands State park are asked to avoid walking on the Charles Island sandbar. Signage is posted on the beach area as a precaution," Fabrizi said.

Swaby's family told WTNH Saturday that he lived in Milford. The family is originally from Jamaica and Swaby is the youngest of five siblings, according to the WTNH report.

Patch Editor Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this story.