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TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man has died following a medical episode while he was fishing 130 miles offshore of Montauk in New York, authorities said.
Sean R. Smida, 38, died Tuesday, East Hampton Town police said.
Smida was fishing aboard a private sport fishing vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, about 130 nautical miles east of Montauk Point, when he became unconscious, police said.
Friends on board the boat called the U.S. Coast Guard at 9:53 a.m. and began trying to resuscitate him while they returned to shore, authorities said.
They were met at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Montauk at 69 Star Island Road, where the Coast Guard told them to dock, at 1:42 p.m., and were met by East Hampton Town Police and EMS personnel, police said.
Smida was pronounced dead at the Coast Guard Station, authorities said.
Police said the preliminary investigation indicated Smida may have suffered a medical emergency before his death.
East Hampton Town Police detectives found no
evidence of suspicious circumstances, and foul play is not suspected, police said.
The cause of Smida's death remained pending the findings of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office.
Smida worked at Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park and was part of a closeknit group of friends who own and work at the shop.
When he wasn't fishing, Smida was teaching others how to fish and reveled in the opportunity to teach children during the Kids Fishing Clinic each summer through the Ocean County Parks and Recreation Department.
Friends were reeling at the news of Smida's death and requested privacy for Smida's family as they cope with his loss.
The article Toms River Fisherman Dies After Medical Episode 130 Miles Offshore appeared first on Toms River Patch.
