Missing Worker Found Dead Off Of Smith Point: Suffolk Police

SHIRLEY, NY — A 45-year-old Far Rockaway man who disappeared while working at Smith Point County Marina in Shirley nearly two weeks ago was found on Wednesday morning and he apparently drowned, Suffolk police said.

Pierre Morris, an employee of H&L Contracting of Hauppauge, was working on a boat at the marina on Nov. 18 when he is believed to have gone overboard. He was reported missing by a
co-worker around 3:20 p.m. that day, police said.

Marine Bureau officers were called to Smith Point County Park around 11:40 a.m. on Wednesday after a man, positively identified as Morris, was found unresponsive off the east concourse, police said.

He was declared dead at the scene, police stated in a news release.

Earlier this week, police confirmed officers were still searching for Morris.

Patch first reported on Nov. 18 that a 911 dispatcher received a call from a coworker reporting a male employee went missing while working at the marina after seeing "an unoccupied boat circling in the marina, police said.

Dredging work appeared to be underway at the marina. It wasn't immediately clear if Morris was part of the operation.

Questions about the type of work Morris was undertaking at the marina were referred to H&L Contracting and County Executive Steve Bellone's office.

A woman who answered the phone at H&L Contracting last week said no one was available to speak and then told Patch, "no comment," and a second request for comment sent by email went unanswered.

Bellone's office did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday morning that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had opened a workplace safety inspection into H&L Contracting on Nov. 23.

It will be ongoing and its purpose is to determine whether or not there are any violations of workplace safety standards, he wrote in an email.

The body of a drowned man was found floating in the water off of Grass Island on Tuesday afternoon.

The Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner is expected to perform an autopsy and identify the victim, police said.

It's the second time in recent weeks that a person has been reported missing off of Smith Point.

Ronkonkoma boater Todd Mauro's 25-foot vessel washed up ashore on the pavilion side on Oct. 30.

He also has not been found, police said.

A spokeswoman Wednesday night told Patch that patrols are continuing to search for him

Detectives are asking anyone with information about Morris' death to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392.

Maureen Mullarkey contributed additional reporting to this story.