Body Of Missing 19-Year-Old NJ Swimmer Found In Delaware River

PATERSON, NJ - The body of a 19-year-old swimmer who went missing in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area has been recovered after a three-day long search, officials said.

Jose Madera Martinez, of Paterson, was last seen Thursday around 8 p.m. struggling in the current before going under, his friends told the National Park Service. His body was found by search crews at around 11:15 a.m. Sunday in the Delaware River near Kittatinny Point inside the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of this young man following this tragic incident,” U.S. Park Ranger and Search and Rescue Team leader Dustin Gunderson said in a statement. “While our crews always hold out hope for a rescue during these incidents, it is also important to search teams to be able to bring the bodies of deceased loved ones back to their families as quickly as possible. We are glad that we could do that today.”

Martinez was found in around 12 feet of water about a mile downstream from where he was last seen, park officials said. Martinez was attempting to swim from the New Jersey shoreline at Karamac - about a mile north of Interstate 80 - to bridge abutments in the middle of the river, where the current is particularly strong.

Two other swimmers were rescued from one of the abutments, park officials said; another swimmer was able to swim to shore. None of the swimmers were wearing a lifejacket.

During search operations on Saturday, crews made two additional water rescues within the search area, Gunderson said.

“The Delaware River may look calm in many areas but under the surface there are strong currents, steep drop-offs, sudden changes in depth, and underwater obstacles and hazards,” park officials said. “Wearing a properly fitted and fastened life jacket is the number one thing that one can do to stay safe around the river.”

Park officials urge all river users, including swimmers, to always wear a properly fitted and fastened, U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket when recreating on or in the Delaware River.

Most drownings in the park took place when people were swimming and no drownings have occurred when a properly fitted and fastened life jacket was worn, officials added.