Auburn Man Drowns Off Rhode Island Beach

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WARWICK, R.I. (CBS/AP) — A Massachusetts man has been identified as the victim of a drowning off Rhode Island.

Warwick Police say 57-year-old Joseph Gillespie was found about 500 yards off Conimicut Point on Saturday afternoon.

Officials say the Auburn resident was swept into Narragansett Bay around 3:30 p.m. while apparently fishing with near a sandbar. Rescue boats and divers from Warwick, surrounding communities and the U.S. Coast Guard searched for about an hour before locating Gillespie, who was unresponsive.

Responders administered CPR and Gillespie was rushed to Kent Hospital, but he was pronounced dead.

"The incoming tide, it's a very fast current running across the sandbar and it's easy to get swept off," said Warwick Fire Chief Tom Bradley.

There are signs at Conimicut Point warning potential swimmers about the currents.

"It happens, I don't want to say frequently, but it has happened in the past," Bradley said.