Body Of Missing Parsippany Man Found On Lake Hopatcong

PARSIPPANY, NJ — The body of a Parsippany man who went missing on Lake Hopatcong while celebrating his birthday over the weekend has been found, New Jersey State Police said.

After three days of searching, police found the body of Avinash Kuna, 32, in the Henderson Cove section of the lake just after 6 p.m. on Monday. He was last seen Saturday morning when he went under the water while swimming, and never resurfaced.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Avinash Kuna during this difficult time," police said.

Kuna was on the lake with friends for his birthday when the celebration turned deadly, friend Jay Majeti said. Kuna went into the water voluntarily, but soon was shouting that something was pulling him under the water.

"We tried to help with the life vest but unfortunately he couldn't reach to it. Understanding that the situation is getting worse, one of our friends jumped into the water with a life vest but we had to pull him out since his vest came off too. Avinash started to drown in water. Everything happened so quickly and all of us were terrified," Majeti wrote.

A fundraiserset up by Majeti to offset funeral costs and help bring Kuna's body back to his native India has raised $37,000 so far.

"We thank you all for your prayers and support so far and request you to please continue to share the campaign to help Avinash's family," Majeti wrote.