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ROCKLAND COUNTY, N.Y. -- Rockland County Sheriff's Marine Unit members were back in the water Friday searching for the body of Daniel Friedman who is presumed to have jumped from Bear Moutain Bridge late last month.
Members also searched the Hudson River waters on Thursday as temperatures rose to 55 degrees in an effort to find Friedman's body, said Chief William Barbera.
The search is really a race against time and temperatures, Barbera added.
"If we can't locate him before the freezing temperatures return, it will be early spring before we can get back out there," he said.
The search, which is being helped with the aid of mathematical computations from the U.S. Coast Guard, will continue as long as the weather holds out, Barbera said.
"We have had great success in the past using the Coast Guard's information," he said. "They have been able to pinpoint locations where we might find a body in the past and are hoping it is successful this time as well."
Video surveillance on the bridge shows a person, believed to be Friedman, a former Ramapo councilmember, and adjunct professor, at Rockland Community College, walking across the bridge on Friday, Dec. 30 and jumping from the north side railing, state police said.
His car was found along the east side of the bridge in Cortlandt, said State Police Investigator Steven Connolly.
Friedman served on the Ramapo Town Board from 2010 until 2015, when lost a bid for another term during the primary election. He also made a run for Spring Valley mayor in 2013 but lost the primary.
State police said they also plan to continue to search for Friedman whenever the weather permits.
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