Body found where missing swimmer disappeared off Island Beach State Park

SEASIDE PARK -- Authorities said a body has been found in waters off the Jersey Shore, not far from where a man disappeared while trying to swim in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.

But it's not yet known if the body found around 7:30 a.m. Saturday is that of 25-year-old Nicholas Guilhote of France.

Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for the state's Environmental Protection Department, told The Star-Ledger that a fisherman found the body near Island Beach State Park and called 911. The discovery came several hours after the Coast Guard had suspended its extensive search for Guilhote.

Guilhote was swimming with friends when he vanished shortly before noon Friday. The French national, who was in New Jersey for a family reunion, was swimming in an unguarded area in the southern portion of the beach. He started to struggle, and then went under.

The Coast Guard, a helicopter and two small boats assisted in the search; 25 lifeguards who assisted were treated for exhaustion, dehydration and cold. The water was 66 degrees Friday.

The state park was closed for two hours during the search.