Body Found In Inlet During Search For Missing Teen Diver: Report

Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ -- A body has been found in the Shark River, where a search has been underway since Saturday for a missing teenage diver, according to a report.

NJ.com reported the body was found Sunday afternoon at the base of a bridge in the river. Avon Police Chief Terence Mahon said the body is believed to be that of a 17-year-old who went missing Saturday while free diving in Shark River Inlet with friends, the website reported.

The Asbury Park Press reported the teen was from Westfield, and that some of his belongings were retrieved Saturday evening during the search.

The identity of the body will be confirmed after it has been retrieved from the water, NJ.com reported.

The search, involving the U.S. Coast Guard, the New Jersey State Police Marine unit, authorities from Avon and Belmar -- which lies on the south side of Shark River Inlet -- and the ANSWER Team (Area Network of Shore Water Emergency Responders), went on for more than five hours on Saturdaybefore authorities suspended it about 10 p.m. Searchers resumed looking for the boy about 7 a.m. Sunday.

It was members of the ANSWER team who found the body, NJ.com reported.

Shark River Inlet, which is heavily traveled by private boaters and fishing boats in the summer months, was closed to civilian boat traffic during the search for the safety of search-and-rescue divers, the Coast Guard said.

A Google Maps photo shows a view of Shark River Inlet from the Avon side of the inlet, which passes between Avon and Belmar.