May 22, 2026
Michael Tanenbaum/PhillyVoice
The search for a 20-year-old who went missing while swimming in Ocean City on Monday has transitioned to a recovery mission. Above, the beach and boardwalk are shown from the Ocean City Music Pier.
The efforts to find a 20-year-old Exton man who went missing while swimming in Ocean City on Monday have transitioned into a recovery operation.
The swimmer, whose name has not been released, was last seen bodyboarding with a friend in the water off the 10th Street Beach. On Thursday afternoon, the Ocean City Police Department said the search was transitioning from a rescue to recovery mission.
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"Members of the Ocean City Fire Department, the Ocean City Beach Patrol and the Ocean City Police Department will be actively working in the recovery mission and continue to request additional assets as necessary to assist in that effort," the department wrote on Facebook. "Both the police and fire department thank all the agencies and personnel that responded and assisted in the search over the last four days."
The two men had been boogie boarding in rough conditions about 200 yards offshore when the U.S. Coast Guard began the initial rescue at 5 p.m. Monday. One of them was recovered and told rescuers that the 20-year-old man had been knocked off his board after getting hit by a wave and did not resurface.
No lifeguards were on duty at the time. Regular coverage does not begin until Memorial Day weekend.
The missing swimmer is a Hofstra University student who had come to Ocean City with friends for a day trip, his father told CBS.
The public was asked to avoid the area of 10th Street Beach to allow rescue crews to continue their search. Officials with New Jersey State Police, the Longport Fire Department and the Cape May County Drone Task Force also were deployed for the effort.
