Father: Woman Missing In Jamaica Bay Could Not Swim
FAR ROCKAWAY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A search continued in Queens on Monday for a missing woman in Jamaica Bay.
Police say a 35-year-old woman was swept away during high tide off the Bayswater section of Far Rockaway.
Family members identified the missing woman as Anna-Kaye Miller Clarke and noted she did not know how to swim.
"She couldn't swim, she was just learning," noted her father, Owen Miller. "I guess she saw the low tide and decided to take a walk across there."
Police say the woman and her 44-year-old husband were in Bayswater Point State Park when she said she wanted to cross over the channel in Jamaica Bay. While in the water, she became distressed and sank below the water line.
The woman's husband jumped in after her and tried to help before emergency responders arrived around 5 p.m. on Sunday at the corner of Mott Avenue and Point Breeze Place.
Rescuers used helicopters in the air and dive teams in the water to try to find the woman while there was daylight.
The search was suspended Sunday around 8 p.m. with rescue crews planning to return at daybreak.
Miller Clarke 's family were at the scene Monday, but the park itself was closed to the public while rescue efforts continue.
"She loves life," said Owen Miller, describing his daughter as a loving person. "Full of life, always full of life."
"I was hoping to walk by here and only see happy things," said Leah Rosenzweig, a neighbor from the area. "I hope and pray, God willing they'll find her."
