NEED TO KNOW
- A 13-year-old girl has died after going missing in the waters of a New Jersey beach on Friday, Aug. 15
- According to the Belmar Police Department, Belmar Water Rescue located her in the water around an hour after she had been reported missing
- “Despite extensive efforts, the victim was pronounced deceased,” Belmar police said in a news release
A 13-year-old girl has died after being recovered from the waters of a beach in New Jersey.
At around 6:36 p.m. local time on Friday, Aug. 15, police received “several 911 calls of a swimmer in distress” off Eighth Avenue beach in Belmar, the Belmar Police Department said in a news release shared on Facebook. When police arrived, they learned one person was out of the water while a 13-year-old was still missing.
Belmar Water Rescue entered the water in an attempt to locate the missing teenager, according to the police. Around an hour later, she was found “unresponsive in the water” off Seventh Avenue beach.
“The victim was removed from the water, where life-saving efforts were made by Belmar lifeguards, Belmar EMS, Wall Township EMS, and Hackensack Meridian Paramedics,” according to the police news release.
Having then been brought to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, the teenager was pronounced deceased “despite extensive efforts.”
No lifeguards were on duty at the time of the incident, per CBS News New York and NBC New York.
Lifeguards are on duty in the area from 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on the weekends, according to the Belmar Beach website.
The identity of the teenage victim has not been released by the Belmar Police Department amid their investigation.
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The tragic incident comes after another person reportedly died at a New Jersey beach earlier in the week.
On Aug. 11, one person died after getting caught in a rip current along with four other swimmers at Webster Avenue Beach in Seaside Heights, CBS News New York reported, citing Chief William Rumbolo of the Seaside Heights Fire Department.
The five swimmers were rescued from the waters, but an unidentified 31-year-old man among them was sent to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he was pronounced dead, per the outlet.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Belmar Police Department and Belmar Beach for comment.
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