Belmar lifeguards and Water Rescue members rushed to the area off the 8th Avenue jetty around 12:30 p.m. Monday after beachgoers tried in vain to rescue a group of distressed swimmers, police said.
EMS workers took one of them to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune Township for additional treatment.
Another was still unaccounted for, however.
It was nearly an hour later when lifeguards found the body of the 20-something victim, who was pronounced dead at JSMC a short time later, police said.
“A full investigation into the nature of the incident is ongoing,” the department said in a statement.
Other responders included the Neptune Answer Team, Drone Unit and Marine Unit, the Manasquan Fire Department Marine Unit, Sea Girt lifeguards, the Monmouth County Fire Marshal's Office, New Jersey State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard.
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