A former Team USA triathlete drowned during an early-morning swim off Shelter Island while vacationing with his family at the popular Long Island getaway.
Spencer Korwin, a 38-year-old married father of two from Manhattan, was found dead beneath the dock at The Pridwin Hotel shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Suffolk Times.
Korwin had been staying at the luxury Shelter Island hotel with his wife and children when he crossed the street and entered the waters of Shelter Island Sound just before 8 a.m.
The former elite triathlete, who was also a wellness entrepreneur, was reported missing after he failed to return from the swim, the outlet reported.
Southold Town Police said an “extensive multi-agency effort” was launched to find Korwin, drawing support from several local police departments and the U.S. Coast Guard.
A Southold dive team later located Korwin’s body underwater near the same hotel dock where he had entered the water, according to the Shelter Island Reporter.
“Spencer was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend,” said a GoFundMe page created to support Korwin’s wife and the couple’s two young daughters, ages 4 and 1.
“He was the sun around which so many of our lives orbited, and his loss is being felt deeply by everyone who knew and loved him.”
Officials believe Korwin died from an accidental drowning but are awaiting the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office to announce the official cause and manner of death.
Residents said weather conditions were good and there was nothing “unusual” about the morning when Korwin went missing.
“There wasn’t anything unusual,” Southold Town Police Department’s Marine One master John Kirincic told the Shelter Island Reporter. “There was no fog or anything bad.”
Korwin, who graduated from Syracuse University in 2010, represented the United States in the 2012 triathlon World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.
He became a sponsored Gatorade athlete for five years and operated his own outdoor summer camp for children in Southampton during the summer of 2020, according to his LinkedIn page.
In 2021, Korwin founded Korwin Health & Wellness, a personalized fitness and holistic health company specialized in developing macro health plans that fit within clients’ lifestyles.
Wednesday’s tragic drowning led Shelter Island locals to warn of the dangerous water conditions ahead of the Labor Day Weekend.
“People are not familiar with the waters around here,” resident Laurie Eckardt told the Shelter Island reporter.
“These are open waters where tides, currents and boat traffic are always considerations,” Shelter Island Police Chief Jim Read said, noting that the area near the Pridwin is not usually considered to be hazardous.
A funeral for Korwin is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Temple Israel in Manhattan.
