Swimmer Dead In 4th Labor Day Drowning At Jersey Shore

STRATHMERE, NJ — A man who was hospitalized Monday after being pulled from the surf at an unguarded beach has died in what is now the fourth drowning in a busy Labor Day weekend at the Jersey Shore.

The swimmer was initially reported as being in distress alongside one other swimmer at Strathmere Beach in Upper Township near Taylor Avenue, about one mile from any guarded beach, officials said.

At the scene, witnesses told first responders that only one of the two swimmers resurfaced; one of the distressed swimmers had been brought to shore by a good Samaritan, while the other remained missing.

According to a GoFundMe launched for funeral expenses, the man was Mark Antwain Costin and the other swimmer was his stepdaughter. She had gotten stuck in a rip current and Costin was attempting to rescue her when he went unconscious.

"His life from start to finish was built on saving people from his tenure as a Medic in the National Guard to his final act of heroism on that beach," the fundraiser reads.

When Costin noticed his stepdaughter struggling, "he didn't hesitate to put her life before his own," according to the fundraiser.

Dozens of swimmers were rescued over the holiday weekend as Hurricane Franklin whipped up rip currents that created dangerous conditions at the shore. The more serious problems came when people were swimming at unguarded beaches.

"With sunshine and temps in the 80s being forecast during the week and no lifeguards protecting most beaches up and down the NJ coast, STAY OUT OF THE WATER," Seaside Heights officials said in a Facebook post. "Otherwise, you risk death. It's that simple. STAY OUT and you guarantee that the ocean and dangerous rip tides will not kill you. Can we be any clearer?"