A Brooklyn man drowned this weekend while swimming in Big Fresh Pond near Emma Rose Elliston Park in North Sea.
The body of 48-year-old Vidal Martinez-Romero was recovered Sunday morning, July 18, following an exhaustive search the previous evening after he was spotted going underwater and not resurfacing while swimming. Southampton Town Police received a report of a swimmer in distress in the pond just before 6 p.m. on Saturday night.
Town Police sent patrol units, detectives, a community response unit, its dive team and its drone unit to the scene. Southampton Town bay constables also responded, as did the North Sea, Hampton Bays, East Hampton and Sag Harbor fire departments, and the Suffolk County’s sheriff’s office.
The search-and-rescue effort was suspended when it become too dark, police said, but resumed the following morning. The Suffolk County sheriff’s office and East Hampton Town Police joined detectives, a dive team and bay constables from Southampton Town in Sunday’s search-and-rescue effort.
Police said the investigation is ongoing, but the incident does not appear to be criminal in nature.
There have been a number of drownings at the pond, which does not have lifeguards, in recent years. The most recent was in July 2015, when Angel De Santiago Martinez, 29, of New Jersey dove into the pond and never resurfaced. He was pulled from the water after 90 minutes and pronounced dead.
A popular spot for members of the Latinx community, the pond contains a steep drop. The area where people swim is shallow enough so that swimmers can stand with their heads above water, but it quickly drops off to a depth of about 11 feet.
Staff Writer on Jul 18, 2021