Suffolk Man ID'd As Boater Missing Off Long Island: Police

RONKONKOMA, NY — Suffolk police have identified the boater of the vessel found Sunday night washed up on the beach of Smith Point County Park in Shirley as a Ronkonkoma man who left a boatyard in nearby Patchogue that morning.

Police said 52-year-old Todd Mauro was last seen leaving South Shore Boat Yard in Patchogue around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

His family told News 12 that they became alarmed after he did not return when they expected from a last-of-the-season fishing trip. His son told Caroline Flynn he loved being on his boat and took it out every weekend with or without his family, who miss him very much.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search at sundown on Monday, a spokesman said.

Mauro's boat was found on the ocean side of the beach, just west of Moriches Inlet, around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Coast Guard Lt. Cory Murallo told Patch.

Suffolk police's Marine Bureau has been engaged in a recovery effort since the Coast Guard's search ended.

A combination of 11 boats and helicopters were used in the massive search effort. The apparatus included one fixed-wing aircraft, three helicopters, and boats from the Coast Guard, as well as five police and fire boats, Lt. Murallo said.

He said the only one word that could be used to describe the massive effort and the number of Coast Guard assets that were deployed was "exhaustive."

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.