Swimmer Reported Missing in East Hampton Hid During Rescue Effort, Cops Say

While rescuers searched for a woman whose husband said she fell overboard from their boat off Montauk in the early hours Monday, other rescuers combed the waters off East Hampton for another missing person.

But the man, who reportedly went missing after he took a swim in front of the Maidstone Club, turned up a two hours later — found hiding in the bushes at his East Hampton house, village police said on Monday.

According to East Hampton Village police, at 12:38 a.m. a 911 caller reported a 27-year-old man went into the ocean at Egypt Beach, hadn't been seen since and may be in distress.

"An extensive search of the ocean, beach and surrounding area was conducted by East Hampton Village police, Suffolk County police aviation, the East Hampton Fire Department and East Hampton Fire Department and East Hampton Ocean Rescue team," the village said in a statement Monday.

After the man was found at about 2:40 a.m., he was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. According to the incident report, he told police that after he went for a swim, he walked home without letting anyone know. He told police he was depressed, they said.

Curbed Hamptons reported Monday that the man was a son-in-law of the actor Chevy Chase, who has a house in East Hampton. Curbed said the man had been drinking and took off all his clothes before running into the surf.

Village Police Chief Jerry Larsen declined to comment on that report, as police are not releasing the man's name.

The man's 30-year-old spouse was listed on the report. She gave two addresses — one on Egypt Close, and another in Bedford Corners, where Chase owns a house.

Around the same time the man was reported missing, rescuers were starting their search for 40-year-old Ninive Petrocelli, who reportedly fell overboard a boat that was anchored off Montauk.

Larsen said he didn't know whether any of the resources employed to search for the man in East Hampton could have been used to search for Petrocelli, whose body was found later Sunday morning.

"I can't really say it was a waste because the guy was suffering from something," Larsen said.

The Coast Guard sent boats and rescue helicopters from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, and commercial and sport fishing vessels also helped in the search.