34 Die In New Jersey Water Deaths Since May As Trend Continues

UPDATE: Thirty-four have now died in water-related deaths in New Jersey since May.

Read more:

• Man Drowns Off Jenkinson's In Point Pleasant On Sunday
• Seaside Park Woman Pulled From Surf Dies: Report
• Swimmer Drowns Off Seven Presidents Park In Long Branch
• Another Swimmer Dies At Jersey Shore; Woman Found In Asbury Park
• Body Found In North Jersey Waterway As Tragic Trend Continues
• Body Of Missing Swimmer At Jersey Shore Found As Tragic Trend Continues
• Search Ends For Missing Kite-Surfer Off Jersey Shore As Tragic Trend Continues
• 2 More Drowning Deaths In Same Jersey Shore Town
• Missing Swimmer's Body Found Off Jersey Shore
• Man Drowns In Brielle School Board Member's Pool: Report
• UPDATE: Body Of Missing Point Pleasant Beach Swimmer Found
• UPDATE: Body Found On Sea Bright Beach: Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office
• Boater Drowns Trying To Grab Hat From Lake Hopatcong
• Girl, 8, Dies After Discovered In Ocean County Pool At Graduation Party

The week of July 30 through August 5 was particularly troublesome. Read more here: 9 Die In N.J. Waters This Week As Mysterious, Deadly Summer Continues

ORIGINAL STORY: The number of people who have died in New Jersey water-related deaths continues to rise since a 23-year-old father of two recently became a victim (see list and photos below).

The trend has prompted some health advocates to remind people about the importance of being safe while swimming.

New Jersey doesn't require lifeguards at hotel and motel pools, and a number of incidents have involved unguarded swimmers. Diane Concannon, a spokesman for the New Jersey Red Cross, said people should always swim with a guard present.

"The Red Cross is reminding people to always keep children at arm's length," she said. "And one of the best things to do is to learn how to swim."

"Unfortunately we see drownings every year, so we try to push out as much information as possible," she said.

The drowning death trend remained steady in recent years but has been on the rise recently. Here is a chart showing the number of deaths involving New Jersey residents across the country, and the number of deaths in the state itself:

Here are the deaths since May 19:

• Arthur Clarke, an avid swimmer who went missing on Lake Hopatcong two months ago, was found dead May 19, police said. He was 64. Clarke, a retired Hopatcong School teacher, owned Hopatcong Eye Care and worked as an optometrist. Hopatcong Capt. Thomas Kmetz described Clarke as "well known" in the community. Read more here...

• Authorities identified the man who died while swimming in Wawayanda State Park in West Milford on June 11. Memfy Deleon, 20, of Paterson, died of accidental drowning, the Bergen County medical examiner determined, Bob Considine, press director of the state Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday. Read more here...

• A 23-year-old man died after apparently drowning in a South Jersey quarry on June 11, police said. At 6:18 p.m., the Township of Hamilton Police Department responded to the quarry off Thelma Avenue in Mays Landing for a missing swimmer. The swimmer was identified as Lenyn Mercedes-Payamps, age 23, of Pleasantville, police said. An investigation revealed Mercedes-Payamps attempted to swim to a sandbar in the quarry but was unable. A witness attempted to perform a rescue but was unsuccessful, according to the Hamilton Township police. Read more here..

• The probe continues after a 47-year-old woman was mysteriously found beaten to death in a pool at her South Jersey home on June 17. Michelle Long, 47, was found dead in the swimming pool of her Woolwich Township residence, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office and Woolwich Township Police. Read more here...

• A body washed up on June 25 at the Jersey Shore, according police, and authorities soon after identified the victim after showing a photo of his shorts. The body that was recovered by North Wildwood Police on Sunday has been identified as 24-year-old Ismail Ahmed Abdelmonem Ismail. Read more here...

• Authorities identified the 27-year-old man who died swimming in the Delaware River on July 4. Marvin Lemus Nolasco, 27, of Philadelphia drowned while swimming in the river near Washington Crossing Park, authorities said. Read more here...
• A young girl vacationing from Pennsylvania died after drowning in a pool at a Jersey Shore motel on July 9, police said. According to the Wildwood Police Department, the incident happened around 4:30 p.m. in the pool at the Nantucket Inn & Suites on Ocean Avenue in Wildwood. Read more here.

• A 2-year-old child died in Galloway Township after being found unresponsive in a pool on July 16. Read more here...
• A young girl from Levittown, Pennsylvania, died after drowning in a New Jersey lake on July 6. Kaylin Pahulick, 4, was pronounced dead shortly after 2:30 a.m. on July 10 at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. Read more here...

• A 12-year-old girl tragically drowned Sunday at Sandy Hook. Bianca Palma, 12, of Elizabeth, was identified as the girl who drowned at Beach E at Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area. Palma was rescued in July. Read more here...
• Marty Barchue, a 17-year-old student at Hamilton West High School, was pulled from a lake in Hamilton Township after he drowned in June. He was one of four teen boys who were swimming in Roebling Memorial Park in Hamilton Township when the current became too strong and swept them away, according to authorities. Read more here...

• An 11-year-old girl from Newark died after she touched a rail on a metal boat lift that had become energized in Toms River. The girl was visiting friends at a home on Tobago Avenue in the Shelter Cove section of town when the incident happened on a June evening, Toms River police spokesman Ralph Stocco said. Read more here...
• Emily Gonzalez-Perez (pictured below) of Belmar, 12, died in June, just days after her cousin Mitzi Hernandez, 13, drowned off the Ninth Avenue beach in Belmar. Emily died at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where she had been since she and her cousin, both students at Belmar Elementary School, were pulled from the ocean on an unguarded beach with no parents nearby. Read more here....

• A citizen walking on the Atlantic City beach located the body of Ramon Quinn, 15, of Pleasantville at Morris Avenue in June. He went missing when he attempted to rescue Kaliy-ah Hand, 16, of Atlantic City, whose body was recovered in Margate. Read more here...

• Two brothers died after they drowned in a South Jersey lake on July 21, according to authorities.
• The bodies of Otoniel Bautista-Vargas, 30, and Saul Bautista-Vargas, 27, were pulled from Crystal Lake near Delsea Drive and Elmer Road in the Vineland area in July, according to the Downe Township Fire/Rescue dive team said. Their hometowns were not identified. Read more here...

• Luke Rambharose, 18, who just graduated from Leonia High School this year, drowned in July at Harriman State Park in New York while cliff diving with friends, according to New York authorities. Read more here...

• A 23-year-old father of two, Rashad Milfort of Lauderhill, Florida, was identified as the man who drowned in Lake Conway in Vernon around 11 a.m. on a July morning. Read more here...

Not all the stories have been tragic. Three people — including a mother and her daughter — had to be rescued from a waterspout after they were stuck in the mud in South Jersey on Sunday, according to authorities. Read more here...

A Cedar Grove police officer also arrived on the scene of a near-drowning on Suzanne Court just in time to help with a lifesaving CPR effort last weekend, authorities say. Read more here...

Meanwhile, Carol Ann Giardelli, director of Safe Kids New Jersey, in an interview with NJ101.5, said that kids should never swim alone as a result.

“In an ideal world at the Jersey Shore, there would be lifeguards at every hotel or motel,” Giardelli told the station. “So we really have to depend on the parents to watch the children. It is their ultimate responsibility.”

Rip currents have been an issue this summer. The National Weather Service's Mount Holly office forecasts the risk of rip currents daily, but points out that "rip currents are always possible, especially near jetties and other structures."

Read more: Rip Currents: What To Look For, How To Survive Them

The American Red Cross suggests owners make pool safety their priority by following these guidelines:

• Secure your pool with appropriate barriers. Completely surround your pool with a 4-feet-high fence or barrier with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Place a safety cover on the pool or hot tub when not in use and remove any ladders or steps used for access. Consider installing a pool alarm that goes off if anyone enters the pool.
• Keep children under active supervision at all times. Stay in arm’s reach of young kids. Designate a responsible person to watch the water when people are in the pool — never allow anyone to swim alone. Have young or inexperienced swimmers wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
• Ensure everyone in the home knows how to swim well by enrolling them in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses from the Red Cross.
• Keep your pool or hot tub water clean and clear. Maintain proper chemical levels, circulation and filtration. Regularly test and adjust the chemical levels to minimize the risk of earaches, rashes or more serious diseases.
• Establish and enforce rules and safe behaviors, such as “no diving,” “stay away from drain covers,” “swim with a buddy” and “walk please.”
• Ensure everyone in the home knows how to respond to aquatic emergencies by having appropriate safety equipment and taking water safety, first aid and CPR courses from the Red Cross.

The Electric Shock Drowning Association also offers suggestions on how to protect yourself in the water. That information can be found here.

Patch file photo