UPDATED 9:30PM TUESDAY NIGHT: Emergency personnel continued their search as night fell, for a Rebbe (counselor) at a day camp in Norfolk Virginia who was swept out to sea, early Tuesday afternoon.
Tefillos were being recited around the globe for Reuven Tzvi ben Esther Baila who went missing in the water off False Cape State Park Tuesday afternoon.
Emergency dispatchers say they received a call reporting a drowning at the park, located at 4001 Sandpiper Road in Virginia Beach. The caller said two people had been in the water. One was 35 years old. The other was an 11-year-old student.
WVEC reports that the teacher was with a group of 20 students when he saw one of the struggling in the water so he went into help. The student was able to get out, but the teacher has not been located.
PLEASE NOTE: Throughout the day, YWN is updating this developing tragedy on our WhatsApp status. Click this link – or send a message to 1-888-4-YW-NEWS (888-499-6397) – to see our status posts.
The missing person has been named as Rabbi Reuven Bauman. He is a Rebbi at Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Norfolk Virginia.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Little Creek are currently searching for the man. Crews from the Virginia Beach Fire Department and the Virginia Marine Police are also assisting with the search.
Sources tell YWN that emergency personnel from the New York area are mobilizing to head to the area to assist in the search and recovery. A large trained team from “Hatzolah Air” are scheduled to depart NY on Wednesday morning and will assist the search by air, land and sea. A team from Rockland Chaveirim are mobilizing as well, including special sonar equipment used to search underwater.
YWN will continue updating this story as information becomes available to us.
A Charidy campaign has been set up for the family.
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11 Responses
Davening for a miracle.
Camps need to chose activities outside the water.
Camp …. had girls missing the exit at Delaware river a few years ago. They could have been lost further and further or get hurt. Please stop these 2: water other than plain water parks and hipnotism for a different reason-some kids are being teased the rest of the summer because they got hipnotised too well .
it’s noted from the Shniva Ruv zt”l who quoted Rishonim not to go swimming or boating or giving blood on the sixth day of Tammuz every year this day turns into tragedy, YWN should post a reminder next year or still today a Note to the public
Please post update! We are davening for the rebbe! Was he found????
Tammuz 6th is day of tremendous Nissim, the most significant one, in our own days, with the miraculous Entebbe Raid.
Please continue to daven that Reuven Tzvi ben Esther Baila be found alive. True, the officials have given up but our fellow Yidden haven’t. There are crews there now still searching.
Please daven like it was your son.
As tearful and sad as it is, at this point it is a recovery mission to bring back the body (according to all the secular news sources). We never know the reasons that Hashem performs, but it’s important to continue to have complete emunah. I know that I struggle with situations like this. I am davening that the body is found so that there is no question of an agunah for the precious wife and family left behind. May they only find comfort and simchas.
These stories are usually reported VERY inaccurately. I’m not referring to YWN but the local news reports that the information is pulled from. It’s also likely that the kids were just walking along the beach or exploring the park and the one student decided to go in, necessitating rescue. There is no indication here that the entire group went on a “water activity/swimming trip” in an area that was restricted.
Let’s rather focus on the fact that this rebbe, without thinking twice, jumped in to save this camper. Keep that in mind as your are davening.
Rebbitzen Mommy11,
The prat regarding the location where this happened which has NOT made it onto the heimishe sites is EXTREMELY shayach to this discussion, and if yiddeshe neshamos will be saved TONIGHT, TOMORROW AND THE NEXT DAY it important to mention this.l, and would be a tremendous zechus in any format.
If that prat would of been included in the regular reports, this post would be unnecessary.
I personally have been mekabel upon myself to be nizhar much more in ensuring water safety when I go out this summer.
We continue to be mispallel for the family that the outcome should be l’tov
Very Sad. I hope they find his body so that his poor wife does not remain an agunah.
in the massacres of Tach v’tat (1648-1649) the Jews of Tolchin and Homel were murdered on the sixth day of Tamuz.
rational, the shoah lasted about 2000 days and 6,000,000 Jews were slaughtered. that averages to about 3000 Jews killed every day of the year. in fact, it was much higher when the reshaim YSvZ fine-tuned their evil methods in the final year.
ain yom she’ain bo meisim