2 drown in Morris County lake, bringing NJ toll this season to 12

MINE HILL — The bodies of two young men were recovered from Sunset Lake at Mine Hill Beach late Tuesday afternoon, bringing the recent toll from drownings in the state this season to 12.

A group approached members of Morris County EMS at the beach and reported that the 17- and 22-year-olds went into the water at the sand pits and never came out, according to Morris County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Paul Merkler.

Swimming is not permitted at Mine Hill Beach, according to a posted sign.

Thick weeds slow divers

An intensive search was immediately started with police and fire from Mine Hill and the immediate area. Dive teams joined the search but their efforts were complicated by tangled vegetation below the water surface, according to Merkler.

After several hours, one body was recovered and then the second shortly afterward. Their identities were not disclosed pending notification of family.

The other drownings in New Jersey in June include:

• New Jersey Park police Tuesday recovered the body of a 59-year-old woman who got caught in rough surf in the A22 area of the beach at Island Beach State Park. Her identity has not yet been disclosed.

• Fernando Perez, 24, of Lake Hopatcong, was pulled from the ocean off 8th  Avenue earlier on Monday after falling off the rocks and getting separated from his group.

• Wildwood police said Williams Pathy, 45, of Hillsdale, was found floating about 100 yards from the beach in the area of Youngs Avenue on June 8. Two swimmers brought him to shore and administered CPR. A second swimmer was rescued from the water and treated by the Wildwood Fire Department.

• A Pennsylvania man drowned June 7 while swimming off the Syracuse Road beach in Wildwood Crest, according to police. Bystanders administered CPR on Joel Green, 53, of Johnstown, before first responders arrived. He later died at Cape Regional Medical Center.

• Santos Chacon-Hernandez, 35, of Lakewood, drowned June 6 while trying to swim with two other men across Harry Wright Lake in the Whiting section of Manchester. He was submerged for 15-20 minutes and died early the next morning at a hospital, according to Manchester police.

• Bayonne brothers Jack Jiang, 16, and Chu Ming Zheng, 19, drowned in a pool at the Lincoln Community School on June 9. The president of the Bayonne Board of Education told NBC 4 New York that the brothers were swimming in a diving pool that was supposed to be closed and unguarded.

• Alfred Williams, 19, of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania drowned off the Andrews Avenue beach in Wildwood on May 31 while swimming with a group of friends. Two others in the group were rescued and one got himself out of the water.

• A 15-year-old from Paterson, Sinata Randolph, drowned in the Great Notch Reservoir in Woodland Park on May 21. Police Capt. Michael Brady told NJ.com that friends said the boy had been cliff jumping even though he couldn't swim.

• Clinten Ajit, 18, of New Milford drowned April 22 when he jumped into Hardcastle Pond trying to get a soccer ball for some kids playing in a park

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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