Teen Boy, 17, Drowns Off Sandy Hook Saturday

GATEWAY NATIONAL RECREATION AREA - SANDY HOOK — A 17-year-old boy drowned while swimming in the Atlantic Ocean at Sandy Hook this past Saturday, according to a spokeswoman for the National Park Service.

The teen died while swimming at Beach B, an unprotected area that does not have lifeguards at it.

The teen boy was swimming with two other teens, another boy and one girl, all 17, Saturday afternoon when they had to be rescued by lifeguards from other beaches and park rangers.

All three were pulled ashore and treated by EMTs on the beach. One boy and girl were taken to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch but the second teen boy was pronounced dead on the beach.

The teen who died has not been identified by the park service.

"Beach B is an unprotected, non-lifeguarded area. Visitors are reminded to swim only where lifeguards are present," said the National Park Service in a statement following his death.

Second death at Sandy Hook so far this summer, fourth death in the area

This is the second death at Sandy Hook for summer 2021, and the fourth for the surrounding area. Tragically, water-related deaths and drownings occur in this part of New Jersey almost every summer.

On Sunday evening, Aug. 15, a man drowned after swimming off Sandy Hook beaches at 7 p.m., after the lifeguards went home. He swam out to a sandbar and was unable to swim back, said park spokeswoman Daphne Yun.

She said people on the beach saw him struggling in the water and pulled him ashore. Park rangers took him to Monmouth Medical Center, but he died there.

Those were the only two drownings that occurred within the actual confines of the Gateway National Park.

However, in July a Carteret man died after he fell off his boat into the water at the Highlands marina. Read that story: Man Drowned In Highlands Marina (July 22)

And in April of this year, a Sussex County man fell off his boat and was found dead in the water in Sandy Hook Bay. Read that story: Man Falls Off Boat, Dies In Sandy Hook Bay (April 19)

Be the first to know. Sign up to get Patch emails: https://patch.com/subscribe Contact this Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com