Or something like that.
Something like that may or may not have transpired on Jones Beach on Saturday afternoon. Around 3:30, a 22-year-old man called 911 and reported that his father had swum into the ocean and not come back. He said that this occurred east of Field 6, in an area unprotected by lifeguards. The son told the police that he had been preoccupied with text messages on his phone and had not paid much attention to his father’s activities.
The father is Raymond Roth, 47, who lives in Massapequa, on Long Island, and who has described himself as a telecommunications manager. His son, Jonathan, said that the two of them had gone alone to the beach. Raymond Roth’s wife, Evana, showed up a half-hour later, and the police said she indicated she was fretful that her husband had drowned.
The matter became the province of the New York State Park Police, which oversees Jones Beach. An extensive search involving a helicopter, boats and the beach patrol was put in motion, involving not only the Park Police but also the Coast Guard, the Nassau County police and nearby firefighters, among others. According to the police, the family said that Mr. Roth was a devoted swimmer who went to the beach virtually every day.
The search continued in vain until Wednesday evening, when it was halted. That is because Robert Roth, the brother of Raymond Roth, contacted the police and said that Mr. Roth was not somewhere in the ocean but was in fact in Florida and that his wife knew of his whereabouts.
Before the authorities could confirm this fresh twist, they got their confirmation in another fashion. Early Thursday morning, a report clattered in from South Carolina. Mr. Roth had been stopped by the police for speeding on Route I-95 near Santee, S.C. They said he was going 90 miles per hour, a man in a hurry. The officer told him that he had been reported missing at Jones Beach.
Capt. Bruce Marx, the commanding officer of the State Police on Long Island, said he spoke briefly to Mr. Roth on the phone. Mr. Roth, he said, told him that he was unaware that he had been thought missing and that he would come back to clear up the matter. He told Captain Marx that he had been in Florida near Orlando and was driving back to New York.
“It’s all very sketchy,” Captain Marx said.
The investigation was now moving in a new direction, he said, focused on whether a drowning may have been intentionally staged.
“I always say that when the police go to investigate these things, it’s to investigate the story, too,” Captain Marx said. Charges have not been filed against anyone, but they remain a distinct possibility.
Robert Roth, Raymond Roth’s brother, would not comment on Thursday.
Lenard Leeds, a lawyer representing Evana Roth, would say only that she had believed her husband had drowned. A spokesman for Mr. Leeds said that Ms. Roth retained Mr. Leeds this week to handle her husband’s estate. Neither Jonathan Roth nor his father could be reached for comment.
There were some of the familiar signs of instability in Raymond Roth’s life. His two-story house, a bed of sunflowers outside, was put up for sale last week, listed at $549,000. Ron Christian, a neighbor, said he believed that Mr. Roth had lost his job.
“I thought he had a heart attack, as he told me that he was taken to the hospital with chest pains two months ago,” Mr. Christian said. “He’s a big guy and a smoker.”
Mr. Christian said that he last saw Mr. Roth, accompanied by his son, on Saturday afternoon, and that Mr. Roth told him they were headed to the beach.
In his profile on the Web site LinkedIn, Mr. Roth identifies himself as a senior manager for procurement at Level 3 Communications, a telecommunications company based in Broomfield, Colo. He indicates he has had a long history in the telephone industry, going back to when he was a cable splicer for Verizon. His profile says he attended Fort Lauderdale College for two years without obtaining a degree.
A spokesman for Level 3 would not comment on Mr. Roth or confirm whether he did work for the company.
Source: nytimes
