VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Officials believe they have located the body of the teacher who got caught in a rip current while trying to save a student at the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge last week.
Virginia Beach Police said a body, presumed to be that of the missing swimmer Reuven Bauman, was recovered in the ocean near False Cape around 2:15 p.m. Sunday.
Joel Rubin, representing the Norfolk Jewish community, previously confirmed the 35-year-old father of five was the swimmer who went missing on Tuesday, July 9.
"This is a terrible loss. Rabbi Bauman was the most respected rabbi's and teachers in this community," Rubin stated. "He was a father, a scholar and an outgoing, smart man."
According to the website for the Jewish religious school Toras Chaim in Portsmouth, Bauman taught seventh and eighth grade boys, plus third grade Judaic Studies.
Reuven Bauman
The teacher tried to save a 13-year-old student who was on a school trip. The child was taken to an area hospital, but Bauman never made it to shore.
The Coast Guard said the area where Bauman went missing is somewhere that is off-limits to swimming, surfing and boating.
"All we know is he was chaperoning with another rabbi for a field trip; they went out to enjoy nature," Rubin told WTKR. "There was another man - a bystander that helped, too - we don't know who he is, but he is an angel."
The Coast Guard suspended their search for Bauman on July 10. However, officials noted that Bauman’s family, who came down from New York and New Jersey, conducted a search of their own in the water of the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach.
The body has been transported to the Medical Examiners’ Office for positive identification.
