Body of man found east of Tiana Beach in Hampton Bays
Southampton Town police say they received the call at around 2:45 p.m. for a body located near the beach. The remains were recovered in a bay-side marsh east of the beach.
A man's body was recovered Sunday afternoon in a marsh east of Tiana Beach in Hampton Bays.
Southampton Town police say they received the call at around 2:45 p.m. for a body located near the beach. The remains were recovered in a bay-side marsh east of the beach.
Police identified the man as 38-year-old David Stetler, of Greenport.
The death appears to be non-criminal in nature, according to detectives.
John Lombardi, of Flanders, says he was the one who found the body. He was out scouting for horseshoe crab locations in a remote part of the bay that is only accessibly at low tide.
After wading through the marsh for more than 15 minutes, he saw what he thought was a mannequin. But as he got closer, he realized it was a body.
“I thought it was somebody lying on the ground with their face down, so I shouted, ‘Wake up. Wake up.’ But they didn’t move…” Lombardi said. “Then I realized it was a person who wasn’t alive. So I left and went immediately to the coast guard station….He looked like a typical person who wanted to go swimming in his underwear and t-shirt...and the body was blue.”
The medical examiner was set complete an examination as of Sunday night to determine a cause of death, according to police.
