Both men who disappeared while kayaking off the coast of Long Island over the weekend have been found dead, authorities announced late Monday.
The body of 25-year-old Aaron Montemarano was located around 11:30 a.m. Monday, WABC reported. The body of his companion, 27-year-old Shane Garcia, had been located Sunday evening.
Garcia and Montemarano were found in the waters of Shinnecock Bay, where they went kayaking together on Saturday. The two took a photo together near the Ponquogue Bridge and sent it to Garcia’s girlfriend before they disappeared.
She reported the duo missing when they did not return from the trip on Saturday night, and authorities launched a search over the weekend. Officers quickly located Garcia’s vehicle parked on Shinnecock Avenue in Hampton Bays, about 75 miles east of Long Island.
The Coast Guard joined the search on Sunday morning, and in the afternoon rescuers found two empty kayaks and two sets of paddles that washed up near Shinnecock East County Park, police said. Shortly afterward, divers found Garcia’s body in the water.
Search teams had to call off the operation shortly after finding Garcia’s body due to darkness on Sunday night. First responders returned to the scene on Monday and located Montemarano’s body late in the morning.
Authorities have not released official causes of death for the two men. The last person to die in the bay was 22-year-old Jhon Escorcia-Arroyo, who drowned while trying to swim across Shinnecock Inlet in 2022.
