UPDATED STORY: Divers Find Second Body in Lower Level of Manasquan Inlet Rock Jetty
Second man found may have been friend of first man found this morning
Divers found two bodies on the Point Beach side of the Manasquan Inlet rock jetty, according to one of the divers of the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad.
Milton Rodriguez, one of five divers who searched for the bodies Sunday and Monday, said he found the second body early Monday afternoon in the lower crevices of the rock jetty in Point Beach, near where the first victim had been found.
Rodriguez said police had spotted the first body on Monday morning, also in the lower levels of crevices in the rock jetty, and then the dive team recovered him. The man was wearing only underwear.
The second victim, who police and the divers had originally been searching for, was found stuck between two rocks, 96 feet from the first victim, Rodriguez said. It is believed that is not the original place where he had been stuck between rocks, Rodriguez said.
The second man was naked, which was an important piece of information for divers and investigators since an eyewitness said they had seen a naked man stuck between the rocks. That initial tip prompted police to begin the investigation.
Rodriguez said he was on the scene when both bodies were found and both were recovered from the Point Beach side.
The second body was found at about 1:15 p.m. Monday in close proximity to where another body had been found Monday morning, said Deputy Chief Michael Mohel of the Ocean County Prosecutor's office.
It is believed that one of the men had been stuck in the rocks of the jetty on the Point Beach side, was seen by emergency responders, and then went under the water.
The man found Monday morning has been identified as Jorge Hernandez, 25, of Baltimore Avenue, Point Beach, said Mohel, adding he is not yet releasing the identity of the man found Monday afternoon.
No foul play is suspected so far in the investigation that is continuing, said Mohel. The investigation will include autopsies of both bodies, he said.
Mohel said investigators have not definitively determined if the second body found had been a friend of the first man found in the morning, but that is part of the ongoing investigation.
He said investigators told him two men went to the jetty together at about 5 a.m. Sunday.
Mohel said he does not know which of the bodies was the man who had been wedged in the rocks.
Authorities transported the first man's body from the rock jetty at the Manasquan Inlet to another location at 11:48 a.m. Monday.
Authorities had first thought earlier this morning that the first body they recovered was the body of a man who had been wedged between jetty rocks at the Manasquan Inlet, Captain Jerry Meaney of the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad had said this morning.
However, now authorities say the description of the man some of them had seen stuck in the rocks and that of the body now lying on the rock jetty do not necessarily match, Meaney said.
Dive teams from the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad and police resumed the search this morning after working at the scene for several hours Sunday night.
State Police had used a boat and helicopter to assist in the search that spanned several hours.
Tina Gallucci, a Brick resident who was raised in Point Beach, said in an email this morning: "My 14-year-old daughter and her friends are the kids who noticed the body first, at 7:30 p.m., and told an adult who notified the police.
"My son, his girlfriend and I rushed down to the jetties to be with her," Gallucci said. "She actually took a picture of the feet wedged in the rocks. She was there taking lots of pictures and looking for starfish on the rocks when they spotted his feet wedged in the jetty.
"She is disturbed over this," Gallucci wrote. "We stayed and watched a lot of what was happening, and when they lost his body, we were upset and finally left at 10 pm."
Chest Nesley, the lead diver involved with the search Sunday night and Monday, said at the scene on Monday that it appears the first body found was not the one wedged in the rocks.
He had said, a little while before the second body was found, that he and four other divers were going to again dive to continue searching for the man who had been seen stuck in the rocks.
He said the rough surf both days made the search in the underwater depths of the rock jetty even more difficult.
"It's like a maze down there," Nesley said. "There are so many nooks and crannies. You can go from side of the jetty to the other down there."
Nesley said the divers have trained beneath the rock jetty, just for incidents such as this.
A squad boat, a state Marine Police boat, and a state police helicopter had also assisted in the search.
Rich
11:44 am on Monday, August 29, 2011
The "Authorities", in cases like this, NEVER release anything to the public that is not a hard, proven FACT. The man "MAY be named Jorge, MAY be 20 years old", should not be officially released until the deceased has been recovered and positively identified by the "authorities". Shame on the person who leaked information about an ongoing investigation to the public.
SoylentGreen
2:27 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
There is a reason people are told to stay indoors during storms like these. Tempt mother nature and suffer the consequences. Condolences to the families involved.
Nicole Brodeur
3:27 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
Did they have to include the picture of the emergency personnel carrying the body? Totally inappropriate.
Beach_N8iv
3:41 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
All you could see were a group of people carrying a stretcher off of the jetty. If this disturbs you maybe you should not look at ANY news at all.
tuna stick
4:16 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
The 14 year old girl was disturbed by the feet wedged in between the ricks, but she took a picture of it. Does that make any sense?
And I'll be sure to look for more of Cammi's heart felt posts whenever I hear that someone dies. What's better: brainless or heartless?
Callaspade Aspade
5:01 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
here's one from the "heart" - learn how to type! "ricks"?
chris gallucci
8:10 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
For Tuna stick...That 14yr old is my gr daughter. She took the picture so the police wouldn't think she and her friends were making it up that they found feet wedged in the rocks..They never saw the body.
tinag
12:05 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Dear Tuna Stick..My daughter took the picture as proof. She was up there taking pictures of the waves with a group of friends. She never saw the poor kid's body.. Thank God she saw the kid's feet or else maybe they would never have even been looking for them or even found.. And yes it was disturbing to her. Thanks for the concern or the condolences for the two families who lost their loved ones.
Saylind
4:24 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
@rich I totally agree. I'm starting to be disgusted by the information they are reporting. Agencies have spokesmen or women for things like this. You shouldn't be writing articals based on these crazy sources and as you mentioned in this one this Capt wasn't even on scene! Shame on PPBFAS for allowing this to happen, and as a Capt he should know better. And no I have no pity for those lost. I'm just glad no emergancy personal were hurt in these recovery efforts.
SoylentGreen
4:37 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
Mohel is a Dept Chief with the Prosecutors Officer, one of the primary agency in the investigation. I don't see a problem here. Names are always release once next of kin have been notified.
Beach_N8iv
12:01 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Just another poster with NOTHING to say but then just HAS to say it anyhow. Some people love to watch from the sidelines so that they can criticize but simply don't have the "necessities" to join up, train and give something to the community that involves sweat instead of wind.
Saylind
4:41 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
The first article did not include him. The patch has since changed the article that ne and rich were commenting about. And removed all the quotes
Laura
6:06 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
And how does Cammi know they were both brainless idiots? Could one have fallen in and the other tried to save him? Could one have gone in the water and gotten into trouble and the other tried to help? Never assume.
No one should be on the jetty with waves breaking the way they were.
I was on the beach taking photos of the waves but there were a lot of people on the jetty. It's just common sense.
TR
12:04 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
How does Cammi know? Let me see. One was naked and one was only wearing underwear (when they pulled up the first body in underwear and the eyewitness had said the body was naked they knew they had a problem), a fact I am surprised no one has commented on, on the beach, during a hurricane, when they were under a manatory evacuation order. What should we think? That they are rocket scientists?
Dan Toth
8:39 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
Strange... very strange....
lucy
9:40 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
jorge was a great kid. RIP brother.
tinag
12:06 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
My condolences to his family.. Sorry for their loss.
Diane Clayton
11:53 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011
Does anyone know if Jorge was related to the Robles family?
Saylind
12:31 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
@beachn8iv who are you talking about?
Beach_N8iv
1:05 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Um, that would be YOU and anyone else who wants to "Monday Morning Quarterback"
Laura
9:28 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
TR, no just that they are like the rest of the individuals who were all on the jetty. I guess we have a nation of brainless idiots. Actually, come to think of it, I'm sure we do. Most of them seem to post online.
SoylentGreen
1:58 pm on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
While the recovery was going on, There were actually a few people body boarding only a few yards from the jetty. Guess you can't fight Darwinism.
Saylind
12:06 pm on Wednesday, August 31, 2011
@beachn8iv not my problem they changed the article after rich and I commented. Perhaps if you saw the possible name possible age crap they wrote you'd feel different. Not to mention as they gave possible names and ages not all families had been contacted yet. I'm sure if it was your family and you found out via a paper they were possible dead before real officials such a mohel gave out the correct information you'd feel a little different. But call me what you want. Obviously the patch realized they were wrong and deleted the parts of the article because they were gone before you passed your judgement.
Beach_N8iv
12:17 pm on Wednesday, August 31, 2011
And how, EXACTLY, does this justify your remark about the volunteers that give countless hours to this town?
SoylentGreen
2:34 pm on Wednesday, August 31, 2011
How do you know the family hadn't been notified.
Ken
10:21 am on Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Bottom Line = It was a really Dumb place to be during the storm.