Suffolk police rescue family stranded off Fire Island

A family from Copiague was rescued by police early Sunday morning after their boat ran aground in the Fire Island Inlet.

Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau officers rescued a 30-year-old man, his 30-year-old wife, along with their two-year-old son, and the child’s 62-year-old grandfather. The family’s 25-foot Parker boat ran aground due to low tide and became stranded in the mouth of the Fire Island Inlet on Saturday night. The child’s mother used her cell phone to call 911 at 11:22 p.m., according to police.

Officers Keith Miller and Robert King aboard Marine Juliet responded but were unable to get within a half mile of the stranded boat. So Officers Rob Jenkins and James Matriciano activated Marine Hovercraft Tango at Oak Beach where they deployed the vessel, reached the stranded boat, and started the safe removal of the family at 1:52 a.m.

The officers took the family to the New York State Boat Basin where the two-year-old was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of minor injuries. None of the other family members were injured.