BERKELEY – Emergency crews launched a large-scale water search on October 19 after a report of a kite surfer possibly in distress off 21st Avenue and the ocean, but officials later determined there was no victim.
According to Berkeley Township Police, a witness reported seeing a kite surfer about a mile from shore go under the water and not resurface. Responders from the U.S. Coast Guard, New Jersey State Police Marine Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, and water rescue teams from Seaside Park and Seaside Heights assisted in the search.
Investigators later learned that a group of kite surfers had been traveling north from Island Beach State Park, and one of them had a black-and-white sail matching the witness’s description. Police made contact with the group in Deal, Monmouth County, and confirmed that all participants were safe and accounted for.
