Shinnecock Bay Search For Missing Man Continues This Week - 27 East
logo logo logo logo

Fire & Emergency / Police / Southampton Press / 1750473

Shinnecock Bay Search For Missing Man Continues This Week

icon 2 Photos
The search for William Woodworth, the Massapequa man who went missing Sunday and may have gone into Shinnecock Bay resumed Monday morning. DANA SHAW

The search for William Woodworth, the Massapequa man who went missing Sunday and may have gone into Shinnecock Bay resumed Monday morning. DANA SHAW DANA SHAW

William Woodworth has been missing since Sunday, January 17.

William Woodworth has been missing since Sunday, January 17.

Kitty Merrill on Jan 17, 2021

The search for William Woodworth, a Massapequa man who went missing Sunday, January 17, and may have gone into Shinnecock Bay will continue for “the next few days at least,” Southampton Town Police spokesperson Lieutenant Susan Ralph said Tuesday afternoon.

The search of the east bay off Hampton Bays and the shoreline surrounding the Pawnee Street subdivision ran from sunrise to sunset on Monday and Tuesday. Searchers continued their efforts over the same area of the east bay as was covered over the course of three hours on Sunday, before darkness hampered efforts, Lt. Ralph explained. Town Bay Constables and the helicopter from Suffolk County Aviation participated in the search. Town Police deployed their drones in an effort to find the missing man.

On Sunday, Southampton Town Police Department’s Emergency Call Center was contacted at about 6:38 p.m. by a family member who said Mr. Woodworth had left his Massapequa home after making suicidal statements, according to a police department release. The family member felt Mr. Woodworth might be heading to their Hampton Bays home, police said. His vehicle was located at the second home and it appeared he could have entered the beach nearby, according to police. Articles of clothing were found on the beach in the neighborhood near Pawnee Street, according to James Curto, of the Search and Rescue Division of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound.

The Coast Guard was notified by Southampton Town Police at approximately 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Suffolk County Police Aviation participated in the search both with a helicopter and drones. Volunteers from the Hampton Bays Fire Department also added a drone to the search effort, while personnel searched area marinas and walked local docks and the shoreline, Chief Chris Hansen reported. They’d been called upon to assist in the search at around 6:30 p.m., Chief Hansen said. A member of the department joined the search on the waters of east Shinnecock Bay, piloting his own craft.

Also participating in the effort were the New York State Police K9 unit, the Southampton Village Police K9 team, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, Southampton Town Bay Constables, members of the Southampton Fire Department and Sea Tow. After three hours on Sunday, the search was suspended, to resume Monday and Tuesday and over the next several days if necessary.

Mr. Woodworth is described as white, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, 210 pounds, with hazel eyes and gray hair. Police have asked that if anyone sees him to call 911.

You May Also Like:

A Talk with a Trailblazer; Karl Grossman Retires From Decades-Long Career Teaching Journalism | 27Speaks Podcast

Earlier this month, Karl Grossman retired after a more than six-decade-long career as an investigative ... 25 Jul 2025 by Editorial Board

Jean Simpson of Southampton Dies July 21

Jean Simpson of Southampton died peacefully on July 21, surrounded by friends and family. She ... by Staff Writer

Falk Family Launches Southampton Public Safety Foundation To Support Police and First Responders

In the nearly two decades that Annie Falk has served on the board of the ... by Cailin Riley

Griffin Sisk Wins 54th World's Longest Sunfish Race

Griffin Sisk is no stranger at doing well, and at times even winning, large Sunfish ... 23 Jul 2025 by Drew Budd

Participants Give Their All in Fourth Annual HLA Run-Swim-Run Despite Low Turnout

The Hampton Lifeguard Association hosted its fourth annual Run-Swim-Run competition on Friday at Atlantic Avenue ... by Georgia Kenny

Hetrick-Martin Institute Benefit on August 2 Reaches for the Stars in Its 25th Year

In the Hamptons, where summer fundraising events occur with the same cadence as incoming flights at LaGuardia, it’s always interesting to see which ones have stood the test of time. After all, the demographics have certainly shifted dramatically in the last decade — a lot more money — but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a rise in “the get” for deserving nonprofits. Indeed, the great philanthropists of the Hamptons can still be counted on fingers and toes. So for an event to reach its silver anniversary, along with record-breaking income, speaks volumes, especially when the cause is so very much a ... by Steven Stolman

Southampton Police Reports for the Week of July 24

FLANDERS — Omar Brown, 44, of Riverhead was arrested shortly before 7 a.m. on July 16 and charged with driving while impaired by drugs, a misdemeanor, after a Southampton Town Police officer pulled him over for a traffic violation and determined that he had been smoking marijuana. A Suffolk County deputy sheriff responded to the scene and conducted a drug recognition evaluation and determined that his impairment was such that he was unable to safely drive a vehicle. SAG HARBOR — An Oak Drive resident reported that someone had contacted her husband via text claiming to be an Apple Support ... by Staff Writer

Rethinking Rentals

East Hampton Town Councilwoman Cate Rogers deserves credit for doing a deep dive into an issue that should be top of mind in both town halls and every village hall on the South Fork: the impact of short-term rentals on the overall housing market. Affordable housing is a constant conversation, but too often the focus is on the price of real estate. That’s clearly a key factor in making communities less affordable to live in, but it’s not the only one. In fact, the impact of short-term rentals, particularly via the explosion of booking websites and apps, arguably has had ... by Editorial Board

Without Art

Last week, Kate Mueth, a fixture of and firebrand for the East End arts scene, widely passed along an email asking people to send emails to U.S. senators, asking them to restore funding for the arts. The Performing Arts Alliance was the source of the request. It noted that on July 15, the U.S. House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee had proposed, in draft bill for the fiscal year 2026, cutting funds for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities at $135 million each, cutting funding by almost a third. That’s severe — but President Donald ... by Editorial Board

Not-So-Still Life

Twenty-five barn swallows are resting on the metal slope of the shop roof. White tin and the deep blue of their feathers makes for a corner of brilliance in an otherwise quiet farmyard. The birds are not still; because they are fledglings and perhaps exhausted by the morning’s workout, they slide a little. Feathers splay before regaining purchase; the group shimmers. Adults, still on wing, make wide, gliding circles throughout the familiar complex. The heat pours on, little showers come at night, dew enough to keep the lettuce alive, but the humidity threatens to rot it. At the point, when ... by Marilee Foster