West Haven firefighters are searching for a missing swimmer off Dawson Avenue beach, but had to pull certain apparatuses out of the water Sunday night due to the stormy weather.
The call came in at about 3 p.m. and the swimmer hadn't been seen for at least a half an hour at that time.The person was swimming alone at the time and a lifeguard saw the person.
"The lifeguard saw a swimmer approximately 800 feet offshore. They monitored their swimming because of the distance they were away with binoculars and they saw the swimmer go under and they didn’t them come up," Deputy Chief Steve Scarfariello, of the West Shore Fire Department, said.
No missing person reports have been filed, so the West Shore Fire District is putting out a plea for everyone to check on their loved ones in effort to identify who the missing swimmer is.
State police, the U.S. Coast Guard, Milford firefighters and New Haven firefighters are responding to help search for the swimmer. A helicopter also circled over the water late Sunday afternoon to look for the missing person. A dive team also searched the waters and more Coast Guard crews have been called.
The search is ongoing, but will be suspended if there is lightning in the area. If that happens, it's not clear how soon it would resume. The search was expected to go into the night Sunday.
