Man Found Dead In Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor

HIGHLANDS, NJ — A local man was found dead in the Atlantic Highlands municipal harbor last Wednesday.

The man has only been identified as a 57-year-old Highlands resident; his name was not released by police. His body was found in the breakwater wall just off the marina, and he is considered to have drowned in a non-suspicious death, said Atlantic Highlands Police.

The man was last seen sitting on the front bow of a Seastreak commuter ferry in the 5 a.m. hour last Wednesday, Sept. 24. Seastreak's security cameras then showed him walking off the boat before the boat departed, said a Seastreak spokesman. Seastreak takes commuters into Manhattan and back.

"The man did not fall off the ferry. What we want to clear up is the misconception that someone fell off our boat. That's not what happened," said Seastreak spokesman Tom Wynne.

Before the boat left for one of its first runs of the day, the man got off the boat and walked back onto the dock. Security cameras showed him back on the dock.

After the boat departed the marina, it was the boat's crew members who first noticed bags and personal belongings on the front bow of the boat. This was at 5:34 a.m.

Seastreak crew called 911, and Atlantic Highlands Police, NJ State Police and the Coast Guard all responded and started searching the waters of Raritan Bay and Lower New York Harbor. Atlantic Highlands Police used a drone to search the bay, and it located the body of the man inside the breakwater wall at Atlantic Highlands municipal harbor.

With help from State Police, the man's body was recovered; it matched the description of the man seen on the bow of the boat.

He had drowned and was pronounced dead.

Atlantic Highlands Police say the man's death is not considered suspicious.