Crime & Safety
Teen Boy Is Fourth Swimmer To Drown In The Rockaways In A Month
Authorities on Monday found the body of a 15-year-old boy who drowned while he was swimming at Rockaway Beach the day before.
ROCKAWAY BEACH, QUEENS — Police on Monday found the body of a teen boy who drowned in the Rockaways the day before. It is the fourth drowning death in the Rockaways in a month.
Maintain Joshua Odozi, Jr., 15, was swimming at Rockaway Beach by Beach 88th Street the evening of Aug. 4 when his friends spotted him struggling to stay afloat, NBC New York reported.
Beachgoers tried to help the teen but said the water was too rough, witnesses told NBC.
Find out what's happening in Queensfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"The current was so bad it was pulling him, plus me, in the water," Johnathan Pender told the news outlet. "It was to the point where I felt myself fading."
(Keep up with news in Queens by subscribing to Queens Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)
Find out what's happening in Queensfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
NYPD Harbor Unit officers found the boy's body on Monday afternoon, nearly a day after he went missing, according to ABC7.
In the last month, three other swimmers have died in the waters surrounding the Rockaways in Queens.
A Long Island couple drowned during a late-night swim in Far Rockaway on July 9. Then an 18-year-old boy drowned on July 30 while swimming off the Rockaway Beach shore with a friend, who survived.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
