The search, lasting more than two hours, produced no results. Riverhead Town Police said this morning the incident remains under investigation.
A Wading River resident near the town beach reported seeing boaters in distress about three-quarters of a mile off-shore just before 9 p.m., Wading River Fire Department Chief Kevin McQueeney said.
The resident reported two men in a gray, 12-foot rubber boat having engine trouble, the chief said.
“The witness said the two men were heading out to sea and it looked like they were having engine trouble,” McQueeney said.
Wading River Fire Department, Riverhead Police Department and Rocky Point Fire Department launched rescue boats and Suffolk County Police sent a helicopter to search for the boaters. Ridge Fire Department also sent a gator to search the shoreline.
Winds were calm and the water was flat, McQueeney said. “There was no sign of any boat. We searched the entire area to three miles out,” he said.
The Suffolk police helicopter did locate two men on a rock not far off shore in Baiting Hollow. The men said they swam out to the rock and had not been in a boat.
First responders transported the two men to shore. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps evaluated them and determined they required no medical treatment, police said.
The Wading River fire chief said he believes that incident was separate from the report of boaters in distress, but Riverhead police said this morning the department is still investigating.
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