Spencer Korwin’s body was recovered from beneath a hotel dock after an eight-hour search.
Korwin, 38, a married Manhattan father of two and former Team USA triathlete, had gone for a morning swim in the Shelter Island Sound last Wednesday while staying at The Pridwin Hotel with his wife and young daughters, ages 4 and 1. He entered the water just before 8 a.m., crossing the street from the luxury property where his family was vacationing, and was reported missing when he failed to return.
An extensive multi-agency search involving several area police departments and the Coast Guard was launched to locate Korwin. The Southold Town Police Department confirmed the operation drew resources from across the region. At just after 3 p.m., a Southold dive team found his body underwater near the same dock he had launched from that morning.
Weather conditions that morning offered no warning of danger. “There wasn’t anything unusual,” Southold Town Police Department Marine One master John Kirincic told the Shelter Island Reporter. “There was no fog or anything bad.”
The drowning has prompted local officials to issue water safety advisories ahead of the Labor Day weekend. “These are open waters where tides, currents and boat traffic are always considerations,” Shelter Island Police Chief Jim Read said. He noted that the area near the Pridwin is not usually considered hazardous. Resident Laurie Eckardt echoed the concern to the Shelter Island Reporter, warning that “people are not familiar with the waters around here.”
Korwin’s athletic background made the fatal outcome all the more shocking to those who knew him. He graduated from Syracuse University in 2010 and went on to represent the United States at the 2012 triathlon World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. His competitive career included a five-year sponsorship as a Gatorade athlete. In the summer of 2020, he operated his own outdoor summer camp for children in Southampton.
In 2021, Korwin founded Korwin Health & Wellness, a personalized fitness and holistic health company focused on developing macro health plans tailored to clients’ lifestyles, according to his LinkedIn page.
A GoFundMe established for his wife and daughters captured the breadth of the loss. “Spencer was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend,” the page read. “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.
Korwin’s funeral is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Temple Israel in Manhattan.