Police rescue man screaming for help in the Barnegat Bay

Police rescued a man screaming for help in Ocean County’s Barnegat Bay late Wednesday evening, authorities say.

Troopers with the New Jersey State Police Marine Services Bureau and U.S. Coast Guard and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office personnel were dispatched to the Barnegat Bay after the man’s father called police and said his son failed to return home on his personal watercraft after it got dark, according to a state police press release.

While the search was ongoing, a resident of the Waretown section of Ocean Township heard a man screaming for help and called 9-1-1, allowing the rescuers to narrow the search on the bay, police said.

The man, who was found uninjured by state troopers at 11 p.m., told authorities that the engine had died and the watercraft began taking on water, according to the release.

“This successful rescue was the result of a great job by our marine troopers, partners, and the Waretown resident who called 9-1-1 to assist us with the search,” authorities said.