UPDATE:
Friends of the young man have started a GoFundMe to assist the family.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/joseph-rera-family-fund
UPDATE:
As of 2pm Saturday Police, USCG and other agencies are still actively searching the area outside of Moriches Inlet.
Westhampton Beach, NY- Friday evening as heavy fog rolled onto the south shore of Long Island a fisherman on the east side of Moriches Inlet was witnessed to have been washed off the jetty and was pulled into the water.
The fisherman was on the Cupsogue County Park side of the inlet, a popular location for striper fishing this time of year.
Police and fire department boats from multiple agencies, along with a Sea Tow boat, responded to the scene and braved approximate 10 foot visibility conditions which hampered efforts to locate the man. At around 6:45pm the fog lifted enough for a US Coast Guard Helicopter to begin an aerial search of the inlet and ocean west of the inlet. On the ground Suffolk Police and Parks units drove the beaches from Smith Point to the inlet along the outer beach.
Update: The USCG official twitter account confirms the missing fisherman is a 16 year old male.
Check back for updates as information becomes available.
