Investigators were on the beach at 57th Street in Ocean City, where a woman’s dead body washed ashore on Tuesday afternoon.
At the scene, Bob Faustman, 37, of Ocean City said he was out on his stand-up paddleboard at about 2:15 p.m. between 56th Street and 57th Street when he saw a purple shirt floating in the water. As he paddled closer, he saw a woman’s head. He reached out to grab her and realized she was long dead.
Faustman paddled in to the beach and asked Ocean City residents Wendy Smith and Jeff Monihan to alert emergency responders, then he returned to retrieve the body. He said he tried to put her on his board, but ultimately just pulled her in from the waist.
Faustman said she was fully-clothed, missing only one shoe. She wore jeans, a nice pullover top and jewelry.
“She looked like she was out for the night,” Faustman said.
Her skin was gray and body swollen and stiff, as if she had been in the water for a long time, he said.
Monihan estimated the woman to be about 40 years old, and he said she was tattooed and wore rings on her index fingers.
Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Ocean City Police Department, Cape May County Medical Examiner’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel were on the beach, where the body remained past 4:30 p.m.
Sgt. Gregory Williams of the New Jersey State Police said the investigation will be handled by the State Police Major Crimes Unit. Williams said the body showed no signs of trauma.
He said police are looking for assistance in identifying the woman, who appears to be 35 to 50 years old. He said she has a tattoo on her right shoulder of a heart with the name Patrick and an unknown other name. A tattoo on her right forearm with angel wings has the name Steven and the numbers 12-87 and 7-88.
Anybody with information is asked to call the State Police Marine Division at 609-441-3586 or the Ocean City Police Department at 609-399-9111.
The wind had been blowing steadily out of the northeast for more than a week.
On Wednesday morning, State Police said the case is still under investigation as the medical examiner continues work and investigators follow up on tips.
______
Sign up for free breaking news alerts and daily updates on Ocean City news.
