Missing swimmer
Coast Guard searching for missing swimmer last seen off Crane’s Beach
The Coast Guard is searching for a missing swimmer who was last seen Friday morning off Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA.
At approximately 9:30 a.m., Ipswich police were dispatched to Crane Beach after park rangers located a backpack and cell phone the beach.
Officers determined that the bag belonged to a 28-year-old Ipswich man and identified a car outside the gate as belonging to him as well.
Police talked with the man's friends, who said he planned to swim to Plum Island. Police believe, based on the location of his car, that the man arrived prior to the park opening at 8 a.m.
The name of the missing man was not released.
Wind is complicating the search efforts and water temperature is about 45 degrees, Ipswich Chief of Police Paul Nikas said.
“We hope to find the individual safe on land somewhere. He could be stranded on a sandbar. There are a lot of sandbars in the Ipswich estuaries. That is what we are hoping for at this time,” Nikas said.
The swim to and from Plum Island is about a mile each way, but “swimming in these conditions is not recommended at all,” Nikas said.
“These waters are dangerous. You make one mistake with water, it is unforgiving,” Nikas said.
Nikas said the man’s family said he was on his high school swim team and a former lifeguard, but he was wearing a bathing suit, not a wetsuit.
First responders from the Ipswich police and fire departments, Massachusetts State Police, as well as U.S. Coast Guard assets including two boats, a helicopter, a plane and the Quincy Police Marine Unit are involved in the search for the man. The Massachusetts Environmental Police also have provided equipment to support the search effort.
Nikas said the search would continue until dark and resume in the morning, if needed.