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A Coram man stranded on a raft in Narrow Bay in Mastic Beach early this morning was rescued by Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau officers early Sunday morning, police said.
Marine Bureau officers received a 911 call reporting a man yelling for help in the marsh on the north side of Narrow Bay just after 3 a.m. A Suffolk County Police Department helicopter responded and located a 10-foot inflatable raft with Brian Bishop, 35, onboard, struggling to reach the shore, at approximately 3:50 a.m.
It is believed Bishop was in the raft for about eight hours, police said.
Officers John Mullins and Dale Kelly pulled the man aboard a Marine Bureau vessel and began a search for another man who had also been on the raft.
Bishop and a friend had launched the raft from Smith Point County Park in Shirley earlier in the night, more than two miles from where Bishop was found. The friend had jumped out of the boat and swam to shore. After a brief search, the man was located, unharmed, onshore.
Seventh Precinct officers and the U.S. Coast Guard assisted in the search.
