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33 Year-Old Man Drowned While Swimming in Crystal Lake in NJ
According to Manchester Police Department, a visit to a popular privately-owned 7000-acre tract of land in Manchester on Saturday morning ended tragically for a 33-year-old Howell Township man, Edwin Toro-Mejia, who unlawfully visited the Heritage Mineral property and attempted to swim in the lake with other individuals around 09:30 am.
Toro-Mejia and a juvenile family member were attempting to cross Crystal Lake when Toro-Mejia appeared to suffer from a muscle cramp in his leg and went into distress approximately thirty yards from the shoreline. Family members went to the aid of Toro-Mejia who eventually submerged underwater and disappeared in the current.
The Manchester Township Police Department, with the assistance of the Manchester Township EMS, the Manchester, Ridgeway, Whiting, Lakehurst, Lacey, Toms River, and South Toms River Volunteer Fire Departments, the Lanoka Harbor and Ocean Beach Search and Rescue Squads, and the New Jersey State Police Aviation Unit responded to the scene where search and rescue operations were conducted for approximately an hour and a half before Toro-Mejia was located unresponsive. He was pulled from the water where he was pronounced deceased. The preliminary investigation indicates the drowning to be accidental.
