{"id":258712,"date":"2026-06-08T01:53:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T01:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/258712\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T01:53:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T01:53:00","slug":"fdny-drone-operator-spots-swimmers-caught-in-riptide-off-rockaway-beach-days-after-bronx-teens-body-was-recovered-off-breezy-point-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/258712\/","title":{"rendered":"FDNY drone operator spots swimmers caught in riptide off Rockaway Beach days after Bronx teen\u2019s body was recovered off Breezy Point \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

In another example of the danger beachgoers in the Rockaways<\/a> can experience when they go swimming when lifeguards are not in their chairs, on Tuesday, June 2.<\/p>\n

At 6:20 p.m., FDNY members assigned to the robotics unit and EMS rescued two swimmers in distress in the waters off Beach 85th Street in Rockaway Beach<\/a> just 20 minutes after lifeguards had gone off duty. <\/p>\n

While patrolling the shoreline with a drone, FDNY Firefighter Michael Stothers spotted the swimmers struggling in the water and, within minutes, successfully deployed a Restube flotation device from his drone. The flotation device began to inflate as soon as it hit the water and helped both swimmers remain afloat until rescuers reached them, according to the FDNY. <\/p>\n

EMT Michael Ormiston, of Station 47 in Far Rockaway<\/a>, entered the surf with a rescue torpedo and made contact with one victim, while Firefighter Patrick O\u2019Leary \u2014 who grew up in Rockaway Park<\/a> and graduated from Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and served in the Army before joining the FDNY \u2014 assisted in bringing the individual safely to shore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"FDNYFDNY firefighters, including a local hero from Rockaway Park, and an off-duty lifeguard rescued the swimmers on Tuesday, June 2.Photo courtesy of the FDNY<\/p>\n

An off-duty lifeguard joined the rescue effort and reached the second swimmer, whom he brought to shore. EMS rushed both swimmers to St. John\u2019s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway and are expected to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is yet another example of the heroism our first responders display every single day in this city,\u201d Council Member Joann Ariola said. \u201cIf not for the rapid deployment of the drone and the fast actions of New York\u2019s Best and Bravest, we might have had two more fatalities this summer. This is one example where the drone program truly does make a difference, and I am very glad to see that these swimmers were rescued and lives were saved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CouncilCouncil Member Joann Ariola was grateful for the responders\u2019 swift action and reminded beachgoers of the dangers of swimming when lifeguards are off duty. Photo courtesy of the FDNY<\/p>\n

The rescue operation occurred three days after the body of a Bronx teenager<\/a> was pulled from the waters of Jamaica Bay off Breezy Point<\/a> two weeks after he was caught in a riptide near Beach 73rd Street in Arverne. Police from the 100th Precinct in Rockaway Beach responded to a 911 call reporting a body in the bay off Beach 219th Street and Rockaway Point Boulevard where they recovered the body of 18-year-old Brandon Figueroa nearly eight miles west from where he was pulled out to sea. His mother Jeanette Munoz confirmed that her son was found in a GoFundMe update<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"BrandonBrandon Figueroa, 18, was swimming off Beach 73rd Street in Arverne during the traditional senior cut day when he got caught in a rip current and drowned. His body was found two weeks later in Jamaica Bay off Breezy Point, eight miles west. Photo courtesy of GoFundMe<\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of me and my family we very much appreciate all the support, prayers and donations we have received,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI am now preparing for services for my son Brandon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Figueroa was taking part in the traditional senior cut day in the Rockaways on Tuesday, May 19, days before NYC Parks began staffing public beaches with lifeguards on Memorial Day weekend, marking the start of the summer swim season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis family can finally have some sense of closure now that Brandon\u2019s body has been found and he can be laid to rest with a proper burial,\u201d Ariola said. \u201cThis tragedy is a stark reminder to everyone of the dangers of swimming when lifeguards are not on duty. I cannot stress enough how dangerous the ocean can be even for trained swimmers, and people going to the beach need to practice water safety and stay out of the water after hours and on closed beaches.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In another example of the danger beachgoers in the Rockaways can experience when they go swimming when lifeguards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,40367,310,9174,100748,194,100749,100750,9,24,63,100751,41631,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-258712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-council-member-joann-ariola","tag-daily-newsletter","tag-ems","tag-emt-michael-ormiston","tag-fdny","tag-fdny-firefighter-michael-stothers","tag-firefighter-patrick-ou2019leary","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-rockaway-beach-rescue","tag-st-johns-episcopal-hospital","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}