North Jersey Man Drowns At Jersey Shore Beach: Police

An Essex County man drowned in the ocean at a beach along the Jersey Shore, authorities said.

Spring Lake police responded to the beachfront near St. Clair Avenue for a swimmer in distress at around 2:05 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, the department said in a news release. The first officers at the scene found a man floating face down in the surf and he was pulled out of the water for life-saving measures.

The 23-year-old Belleville man was treated by paramedics before he was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at the Neptune hospital.

Police also warned that lifeguards aren't on duty until Memorial Day weekend.

"Please do not swim in the ocean until the water is guarded," the department said in its release. "Rip currents and dangerous conditions are always a possibility and the conditions change daily."

Police from Belmar, Sea Girt, and Spring Lake Heights, Spring Lake firefighters and EMTs, and the off-duty lifeguards from the South Monmouth After-Hours Response Team (SMART) also helped at the scene.