Crime & Safety

Two Saved by Suffolk Marine Bureau After Boat Sinks

Holbrook and Ronkonkoma men onboard small ship that sank on Sunday night.

Two men were rescued by Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau officers from a remote island after their boat sank near Babylon on Monday morning.

Suffolk County Police said two men, Paul Salentino, 36, of Holbrook, and John Rose, 51, of Ronkonkoma, left from the East Islip Marina around 1:30 p.m. Sunday to go clamming aboard a 14-foot motorized boat.

When the pair did not return from their trip, Salentino's mother traveled to the marina and found her sons unoccupied vehicle at about 3 a.m.

Officers from the Marine Bureau as well as the U.S. Coast Guard were called to go on the search for the missing men, using the boats Marine X-Ray and Marine 1, on the Great South Bay. Police said the search was rough due to foggy conditions and near zero visibility at the beginning.

Just after sunrise though, Marine Bureau officers located the missing men on a small, remote island near Babylon Village at 7:30 a.m.

The men told police they were clamming in the Oak Island Channel when the waters became choppy and overflowed onto the boat, causing it to sink at around 7:15 p.m. Sunday. They then swam to the island, where stayed overnight.

The two men were treated at the scene and did not suffer any injuries.


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