Tragedy at Sandy Hook Leaves Monmouth Co. and the Shore Shaken

A beautiful Saturday at the beach turned sadly turned tragic.

Listen to Matt Ryan weekday afternoons on 94.3 The Point and download our free 94.3 The Point app.

A spokeswoman for Sandy Hook National Park confirmed that a 17-year-old boy drowned at the Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook on Saturday.

sandy_hook_beach via Instagram

According to APP and Sandy Hook officials, a distress call was made Saturday afternoon when three teenagers were in trouble in the water at Beach B.

Lifeguards, EMTs, and rangers arrived at the scene. Two of the three teenagers were taken to Monmouth Medical Center, sadly, a 17-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

This story is heartbreaking and my heart goes out to the family and friends of the young man who passed away.

It cannot be emphasized enough that Beach B is what a Sandy Hook official described as an “unprotected, non-lifeguarded area.”

sandy_hook_beach via Instagram

This should be a wake-up call to residents of the Shore and visitors to only swim when a lifeguard is present. So many precious lives are lost needlessly.

Swim only at lifeguard-protected beaches during lifeguard hours. Gateway's lifeguards protect certain beaches from 10 am through 6 pm. Other beaches do not have lifeguards and you absolutely not swim there.

Be alert for strong ocean currents, powerful waves, and underwater obstacles. Before you go to the beach, learn how to deal with rip currents. Keep children within easy reach. Be aware of changing tides and weather conditions. Watch for unexpected large waves that wash further up the shore. Most importantly, never turn your back to the ocean.

Let's all stay safe for the rest of the season and summer seasons to come.

Practice safety at these beaches too! These are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.