A body believed to be of a rabbi who went missing in the ocean in Virginia Beach while saving a student was found on Sunday by search and rescue volunteers.
Rabbi Reuven Bauman, a 35-year-old teacher at Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Norfolk, Va., was last seen around 12:30 p.m. on June 9 when he helped rescue a student—reported to being 11 years old, but in actually is 13—who was trapped by a current during a school trip to False Cape State Park.
Misakim of Maryland, a nonprofit that assists members of the Jewish community dealing with hardship, in addition to rescue and recovery services, found Bauman’s body.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its nearly 24-hour search on June 10.
“We never make the decision to suspend lightly, and in this particular case, it’s especially difficult,” said Capt. Kevin Carroll, commander of Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads. “We share our deepest sympathies with the family of a man who risked his own life to save another.”
Police said that a positive identification is expected to be made by the medical examiner’s office.