Swimmer's body found after search of So. River

BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

STEVEN M. BARON Emergency responders from South River, Perth Amboy and East Brunswick were among those searching the waters near the South River Causeway Monday for a borough man who went missing during a swim the day before.

The body of a South River man who disappeared Sunday while swimming in the South River was recovered Monday night after an extensive search of the waters.

Benjamin Martinez Santos, 30, had been fishing with three of his friends from the shore on the South River side of the river around 2:30 p.m. Sunday when he decided to go for a swim, according to South River Police Detective Mark Tinitigan.

"He was known to be a good swimmer by his three friends, so they did not think anything of it when he decided to swim to the other side," Tinitigan said.

Hours after Santos' friends lost sight of him around the bend of the river, they started to worry and notified Santos' wife. She then contacted the police, who began a search that night.

The search was conducted by the South River Rescue Squad, the Perth Amboy Fire Department, the Sayreville Rescue Squad and the New Brunswick Police Department, which used the Marine 1 boat to search for the victim, according to Tinitigan. He added that a North Star Unit helicopter was also used by state police in an aerial search of the river.

The search was suspended at 12:15 a.m. Monday and was resumed at 8 a.m., Tinitigan said. The search continued Monday afternoon during low tide.

Santos was ultimately found shortly after 10 p.m. by members of the Edison First Aid and Rescue Squad in an area close to where he had jumped in.

The victim's wife confirmed his identity Tuesday. Santos was a Honduran immigrant and the father of three children.

The drowning is the second to occur locally this summer. A 34-year-old Edison man drowned June 27 after he went for a swim in Farrington Lake, East Brunswick. The body of Daniel Hoffman was found in the early morning hours of July 3 by a fisherman who was out on the lake in a boat.

The last known drowning in South River, according to Tinitigan, was in July 1989. He reiterated that the river is not safe for swimming because of very strong currents.