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Search and rescue divers found the body of 29-year-old John Pereira in Prospertown Lake on Sunday, Aug. 4, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He was first reported missing at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3.
Witnesses told Jackson Township police that Pereira was not wearing a life preserver and they believed he drowned. The search was suspended in the evening due to severe weather and Pereira's body was recovered at around 3:55 p.m. the next day.
Pereira's body was brought to Community Medical Center in Toms River. An autopsy will be performed there to determine his official cause of death.
Prospertown Lake Wildlife Management Area is on about 1,030 acres of land that extends into the Monmouth County townships of Millstone and Upper Freehold. Swimming isn't allowed on the 80-acre lake that neighbors Six Flags Great Adventure.
Pereira's death was the second drowning in Ocean County in about a week. Victor Arias-Peralta, 18, of Perth Amboy, was found dead on Monday, July 29 at Crystal Lake, a notoriously dangerous body of water at a mining property in Manchester Township.
State police and officers with the state Division of Fish and Wildlife were among the first responders who helped during the search for Pereira.
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