Maryland

Body of missing Maryland swimmer found on beach, Rehoboth police say

Richard A. Boateng, of Savage, Maryland was last seen swimming in Rehoboth Beach on Sunday

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The body of a 31-year-old Maryland man who went missing while swimming in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Labor Day weekend washed up on shore, ending a day-long search, police said.

Richard A Boateng, of Savage, Maryland, was last seen in the ocean about 5:45 p.m. Sunday, authorities said, during a busy holiday weekend with rip current concerns.

Multiple people called 911, setting off a multiagency search effort, Rehoboth police said. The U.S. Coast Guard, plus Rehoboth and Delaware police, assisted before the search was called off on Monday.

A body was found about 6 a.m. Monday on the beach near Ocean Drive and Farview Road in the North Shores community, where President Joe Biden has a home.

Sussex County paramedics responded and identified the body as Boateng’s. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The Rehoboth Beach Police and the Division of Forensic Science are conducting a death investigation. No foul play is suspected.

Forecasters were warning of rip currents as Hurricane Franklin swirled miles away in the Atlantic Ocean, NBC affiliate WRDE reported. Rehoboth Beach was under a double red flag warning – meaning swimming was not allowed in the ocean – on Thursday and Friday because of rip current and safety worries, the city said.

About 30 miles away in Ocean City, Maryland, about multiple people were rescued by beach patrol members and fire department rescue swimmers, the Ocean City Fire Department said. WRDE reported about 150 rescues on Sunday alone.

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