North Jersey Woman Drowns At island Beach State Park

ISLAND BEACH STATE PARK- A Cliffside Park woman apparently drowned after she swam on an unguarded beach here on the Fourth of July, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection said.

Isabel Alverio, 66, was in the water on Wednesday afternoon when family members and other park visitors saw she was in distress and pulled her to shore, said DEP spokesman Larry Hajna.

New Jersey State Park Police and Island Beach lifeguards responded to the area at around 4:20 p.m. and began performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, he said.

Alverio was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where she died on Thursday, Hajna said.

The circumstances surrounding her death were not clear, but she appears to have drowned, he said.

This is a developing news story. Patch will update when more information is available.

Photo: Patricia A. Miller