Edison, NJ man drowns at unguarded Maryland beach

🔴 Praise Ezechibueze went missing while swimming at an Ocean City, Maryland beach

🔴 A search failed to locate him; his body washed up Sunday morning

🔴 Ezechibueze was reportedly a junior at the University of Delaware

OCEAN CITY, MD — The body of a 21-year-old New Jersey man who went missing while swimming at an unguarded beach in Maryland Saturday afternoon was found Sunday, according to police.

Ocean City police in Maryland said Praise Ezechibueze, of Edison, was reported missing in the area of 25th Street and the beach in Ocean City around 3:30 p.m. The Ocean City Fire Department, Beach Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland Natural Resources Police immediately began an unsuccessful search for Ezechibueze.

His body was reported washed up on the 4th Street beach around dawn on Sunday morning.

No lifeguards on duty

The beaches in Ocean City, Maryland are not guarded until the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, according to the Beach Patrol.

The University of Delaware in a statement to WDEL radio said Ezechibueze was a junior majoring in medical diagnostics. He was also a member of the Class of 2020 at Edison High School.

"The loss of Praise affects everyone in our community. As students are already experiencing stress at the end of the spring semester, we know this news hits hard following the recent loss of another UD student just over a week ago. The University has reached out to Praise’s friends to provide information about counseling and other resources," spokesman Peter Bothum told New Jersey 101.5.

The school has invited students to "listen, share and support one another" Thursday afternoon.

The Edison School District on Wednesday morning did not respond to New Jersey 101.5's request for more information.

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

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