On October 11, 2012, Avalon Police were notified that a despondent male may be in their jurisdiction, armed with a handgun. Acting on information from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Det. Eric Heisman and Det. Sgt. Joseph Gaughan located the individual on the 31st Street beach.
When approached by the Detectives, the male entered the ocean, wearing jeans and a sweat shirt. A Multi-jurisdictional response converged on the beach in an effort to retrieve the male from the water which was estimated to be approximately 65 degrees at the time of the incident.
After treading water for forty five minutes to an hour, the male was pulled into an Avalon Fire Department boat by a rescue team consisting of: Sgt. Greg Jackson, Stone Harbor Police Department; Ptlm. David Glassford, Avalon Police Department; and S.O. Ryan Osmundson, Cape May County Sheriff’s Department.
The unidentified male was treated by the Avalon Rescue Squad and Medic 9 for hypothermia and transported to Cape Regional Medical Center for further evaluation. The original report of a handgun was not substantiated.
Responding agencies included the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Cape May County Sheriff’s Department, Stone Harbor Police Department, NJ State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard.
