News

Teenager rescued off Nassau Point Sandbar by bay constable

Southold Town police and bay constables from Southold and Shelter Island on Monday rescued a 16-year-old boy in Peconic Bay after rising tide swept him away from a sandbar at the end of Nassau Point in Cutchogue.

According to a Southold police department release, the boy got pulled into the water just after 1:30 p.m. and was unable to swim back to the beach. It was the second rescue on the water in as many days after a 12-foot boat overturned Sunday, sending two men into the water.

Police said in Monday’s rescue, the Shelter Island Bay Constable arrived on scene first and located the boy. He was pulled into the boat and was conscious and alert, however, he exhibited signs of exhaustion. He was transferred onto a Cutchogue Fire Department rescue boat and brought back to land at the New Suffolk boat ramp.

An ambulance was waiting to transfer him to Peconic Bay Medical Center for precautionary reasons. The boy had been on the sandbar with two other people, who were able to call for help when he began to struggle swimming back to shore.

In Sunday’s incident, two fishermen in a 12-foot McKee Craft boat were hit by the wake of two vessels just before 1 p.m., causing water to rush over the stern and flood the boat, police said.

The boat overturned, sending both men, ages 50 and 34, into the water. They climbed atop the overturned boat. A nearby boater, Ted Webb of Mattituck, saw the men and called for assistance. The bay constables arrived on scene shortly afterward and Sea Tow was called to bring the vessel to Strong’s Marine. The men were not injured, police said.