Body of 2nd missing kayaker Aaron Montemarano recovered near Shinnecock Bay
Police officers search for two missing kayakers off Shinnecock Road in Hampton Bays on Sunday. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Police on Monday recovered the body of the second of two kayakers who went missing Saturday while venturing into Shinnecock Bay, authorities said.
New York State Police divers recovered the body of Aaron Montemarano, 25, in Shinnecock Bay late Monday morning, capping a three-day search using drones and helicopters, the Town of Southampton Police Department said in a news release. State police recovered the body of Shane Garcia, 27, on Sunday.
About 11:30 a.m. Monday, Southampton Town Marine Patrol officers and state troopers "located an area of interest in Shinnecock Bay," where they recovered Montemarano, of Riverhead, the release said.
The police did not immediately provide Garcia's hometown.
State police and the town marine patrol found the two men's kayaks and paddles at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on the shore around Shinnecock East County Park, according to the police.
"The water search continued until it became too dark," Laferrera said Sunday evening in an e-mailed statement.
On Saturday, Garcia sent a photo of himself and Montemarano paddling near the Ponquogue Bridge to his girlfriend. When he didn't return that evening, authorities said, she became alarmed and called police to report him missing.
Officers later found Garcia’s car in Hampton Bays, at the end of Shinnecock Road, and began to search the water.
Earlier, police said the men were in a lime green, two-person ocean kayak, but later amended their earlier statement to say two kayaks had been found.
The body of Shane Garcia, 27, was found Sunday, the police said. Credit: Southampton Police
Southampton police marine and patrol units, assisted by a Suffolk police helicopter, searched for the men in and around Shinnecock Bay on Saturday night, Southampton police Sgt. Michael Walsh said. At 6 a.m. Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard also joined the search, police said.
Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story.
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