Clothing, Documents Found On Body Off Island Beach Match Missing Swimmer

by Patricia A. Miller

Although only the Ocean County Medical Examiner can positively identify the body found off Island Beach State Park Saturday, clothing and documents match the swimmer who went missing on Friday, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said tonight.

"I can only say preliminary, based on the clothing and documents found on his person," Al Della Fave said.

A local fisherman discovered a body around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, about a quarter of a mile north of where a French man went missing Friday afternoon, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection has said

Nicholas Guilhote, 25, entered the water on an unguarded beach near the A-20 section of the park - about 7.7 miles in from the entrance gates shortly before noon on Friday. Island Beach lifeguards, the Coast Guard and park police searched for him for hours.

Friday was a difficult day for the lifeguards and staff at Island Beach State Park, as they struggled to cope with other numerous ocean rescues and continued to search for the missing man, Area Supervisor Ray Bukowski said.

The park's two bathing beaches were closed for several hours shortly after noon at the height of the search, since so many guards were needed to assist, Bukowski said.