SALON

Thursday, Aug 2, 2012 7:15 PM UTC

Police: Missing NY swimmer spotted in S. Carolina

By

Topics: From the Wires,

MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (AP) — A man reported missing in waters off Long Island is believed to be alive and well, and was en route back to New York after apparently spending some time in Florida, police said Thursday.

“He’s not drowned and dead,” New York State Park Police Capt. Bruce Marx said at a briefing.

Raymond Roth, 47, of Massapequa, was reported missing Saturday after his son told authorities the two had gone to Jones Beach and that his father went swimming but never returned. Police marine units, helicopters and officers searched for several days with no results.

On Wednesday night, a relative of Roth’s contacted police and reported that he was somewhere in Florida, Marx said.

Early Thursday morning, Roth was stopped going 90 mph on a South Carolina highway and issued a speeding ticket. The officer who issued the ticket then observed that Roth was listed in a national registry of missing persons; Roth said he was returning to New York and the officer let him proceed north. Marx noted that there was no legal requirement for authorities to detain Roth.

It was not clear exactly what transpired on Saturday when Roth disappeared, nor whether criminal charges will be filed. A spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice declined to comment. Marx said any decision on charges would have to await further investigation. He estimated that the search effort cost “tens of thousands” of dollars.

State park police got Roth’s cellphone number from a relative and had several telephone conversations with him Thursday. Authorities say Roth told them he was en route back to Long Island and could arrive later in the day, although Marx said there was no way to know if that’s true. Marx said it was unclear if Roth would contact police when he returns to New York.

No one answered the door at Roth’s Massapequa home on Thursday morning. A “for-sale” sign was posted on the front lawn and neighbors said the Cape Cod style home had recently undergone extensive renovations.

A LinkedIn page for Roth noted he worked for Level 3 Communications, a data networking company. A company spokesman declined to comment.

Jane Stone, who has lived in Roth’s neighborhood for more than 50 years, said Roth was always pleasant and would often use his snow blower to clear neighbors’ walkways in the winter. She said she spoke to him sometime last week and he was proud to show off his home’s renovations.

“He was very happy and delighted and asked us to come over for a barbecue,” she said, although they never followed through on the invitation. “He seemed very happy and everything, but this is before the house went on sale.”

More Frank Eltman.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • This photo. President Barack Obama has a laugh during the unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tx., Thursday. Former first lady Barbara Bush, who candidly admitted this week we've had enough Bushes in the White House, is unamused.
    Reuters/Jason Reed

  • Rescue workers converge Wednesday in Savar, Bangladesh, where the collapse of a garment building killed more than 300. Factory owners had ignored police orders to vacate the work site the day before.
    AP/A.M. Ahad

  • Police gather Wednesday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to honor campus officer Sean Collier, who was allegedly killed in a shootout with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects last week.
    AP/Elise Amendola

  • Police tape closes the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy in Libya Tuesday. The explosion wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage to Tripoli's upscale al-Andalus neighborhood.
    AP/Abdul Majeed Forjani

  • Protestors rage outside the residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday following the rape of a 5-year-old girl in New Delhi. The girl was allegedly kidnapped and tortured before being abandoned in a locked room for two days.
    AP/Manish Swarup

  • Clarksville, Mo., residents sit in a life boat Monday after a Mississippi River flooding, the 13th worst on record.
    AP/Jeff Roberson

  • Workers pause Wednesday for a memorial service at the site of the West, Tx., fertilizer plant explosion, which killed 14 people and left a crater more than 90 feet wide.
    AP/The San Antonio Express-News, Tom Reel

  • Aerial footage of the devastation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province last Saturday. At least 180 people were killed and as many as 11,000 injured in the quake.
    AP/Liu Yinghua

  • On Wednesday, Hazmat-suited federal authorities search a martial arts studio in Tupelo, Miss., once operated by Everett Dutschke, the newest lead in the increasingly twisty ricin case. Last week, President Barack Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R.-Miss., and a Mississippi judge were each sent letters laced with the deadly poison.
    AP/Rogelio V. Solis

  • The lighting of Freedom Hall at the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday is celebrated with (what else but) red, white and blue fireworks.
    AP/David J. Phillip

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Shelter Cycle": Raised in a cult

Recommendations