2 Photos
Southampton Town Police said Shane Garcia, left, sent this selfie of himself and his friend, Aaron Montemarano, to his girlfriend when they were kayaking on Saturday, November 1.
Shane Garcia
UPDATE: SUNDAY, 9 P.M.
The body of 27-year-old Shane Garcia, of Southampton, was recovered in Shinnecock Bay on Sunday afternoon, Southampton Town Police said. The search for Aaron Montemarano, 25, of Riverhead, continued until police suspended their efforts due to darkness.
The men went kayaking in Shinnecock Bay in Hampton Bays on Saturday but did not return home and were reported missing.
Police renewed their search at about 6 a.m. on Sunday. At about 12:30 p.m., New York State Police and Southampton Town Marine Patrol Units were patrolling Shinnecock Bay when they came upon two kayaks washed ashore as well as two paddles in the vicinity of Shinnecock East County Park, police said.
Officers with the town’s detective division responded to the area to continue the investigation. They were assisted by other officers as well as the department’s drone unit. A Suffolk County Police Department helicopter assisted, as did state police divers.
Police said after marine patrol officers located “an area of interest,” state police divers searched the area and recovered Garcia’s body.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Two men who were out on a two-person kayak in Shinnecock Bay near the Ponquogue Bridge on Sunday, November 1, are missing.
Southampton Town Police said Shane Garcia, 27, and Aaron Montemarano, 25, went out on Garcia’s lime green, ocean kayak earlier in the day. Garcia sent a photograph of the two men on his kayak to his girlfriend, who reported to police at 8:44 p.m. that he had not returned.
Police found Garcia’s work van parked at the end of Shinnecock Avenue in Hampton Bays. Police said a search of Shinnecock Bay and the surrounding area proved fruitless.
Garcia has been described as 6-foot 2-inches tall and weighing 185 pounds. Police said he was wearing a gray jacket and shirt, black pants and tan Nike sneakers. A description of Montemarano was not provided by police. In the photograph, he appeared to be wearing a gray jacket and black hooded sweatshirt, brown pants and a New York Yankees cap.
Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call the town police detective division at 631-728-3400 or the town police TIPS hotline at 631-728-3454. Information can also be sent to police by email, to crimetips@southamptontownny.gov .
Staff Writer on Nov 2, 2025