Body Of Missing Boater Found In East Rockaway Inlet

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A body recovered in the East Rockaway Inlet on Friday morning is that of a missing boater, the Coast Guard said.

Stanislaw Nawrocki, 57, of Ridgewood, Queens, was fishing with his friend in an inflatable motor boat Thursday afternoon when he somehow fell into the water, the Coast Guard said.

Nawrocki's friend, a 54-year-old homeless man named Janusz Sowa, searched for Nawrocki by himself for at least 90 minutes Thursday, according to Nassau County police.

WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reports

Sowa waited up to three hours to report Nawrocki missing, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reports.

Sowa is accused of being drunk while operating the 26-foot boat when his friend went missing. Prosecutors said Sowa had a blood alcohol level of .17.

Sowa was arraigned Friday on a charge of  operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol. He is being held on $100,000 bond.

Speaking through a Polish interpreter, Sowa said he is homeless but worked at a Jewish camp in Monticello two weeks ago.

Detectives are investigating the relationship between the two men and how Nawrocki fell into the water.