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Edwin Toro-Mejia "unlawfully" visited the 7,000-acre Heritage Mineral property and was trying to swim with others around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 22, Manchester police said in a news release.
Toro-Mejia and a juvenile family member were attempting to cross Crystal Lake when Toro-Mejia appeared to suffer from a muscle cramp in his leg and went into distress approximately 30 yards from the shoreline. Family members went to the aid of Toro-Mejia who eventually submerged underwater and disappeared in the current.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene where Toro-Mejia was found unresponsive from the water around 11 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Videos of Crystal Lake began popping up on TikTok during the pandemic, calling the spot a "hidden gem."
A Manchester Township police spokesperson previously warned, though, the water can be "very unpredictable and dangerously unstable."
"Those entering the water will quickly realize that after taking a few steps in the soft, unstable sand that the shoreline ‘shelf’ quickly drops off to depths that exceed 60 feet," the spokesperson said in a news release. "Some estimates have the largest ‘lake’ on the property as being up to 300 feet deep."
Another man also named Edwin drowned at the same lake in July 2020.
Responders on June 22, 2024 included Manchester Township Police Department, Manchester Township EMS, the Manchester, Ridgeway, Whiting, Lakehurst, Lacey, Toms River, and South Toms River Volunteer Fire Departments, the Lanoka Harbor and Ocean Beach Search and Rescue Squads, and the New Jersey State Police Aviation Unit responded to the scene
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