A marathon swimmer from North Carolina went missing in the Hudson River near the George Washington Bridge on Friday while competing in a 120-mile race.
Charles Van Der Horst, 67, disappeared on the New Jersey side of the bridge about 3:10 p.m. in the second-to-last stage of the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim, which is billed by event organizers as “the longest marathon swim in the world,” police sources said.
A search and rescue effort to locate the missing swimmer came up short and was called off by 6:45 p.m., police said.
The marathon race began last Saturday and at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Catskill, NY, and featured different stages everyday, except for Wednesday.
Friday’s leg of the swim went from the Tappan Zee Bridge to the George Washington Bridge.
New York Open Water, who organized the race, cancelled Saturday’s last and final leg of the swim, would have gone from the George Washington Bridge to the Verrazano Bridge.
NYOW released a statement, saying in part, “it is with great sadness that we report the loss of a swimmer today.”
Authorities are expected to resume their search Saturday morning, sources said.