POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Authorities are searching for a Slovakian woman who went missing while swimming in rough seas early Sunday morning.

Zuzana Oravcova, 24, of Slovakia went into the ocean with Thomas Kadlec, 23, also of Slovakia, for a 2 a.m. swim but both struggled in the high surf, police said.

Kadlec was able to swim ashore, but Oravcova never left the water, according to authorities. Kadlec notified a boardwalk employee, who called police.

The National Weather Service had been warning since last week about dangerous rip tides along the Jersey Shore this weekend. Several beaches posted red "No Swimming" flags to keep visitors out of the water.

After Oravcova was reported missing, officers from the Point Pleasant Beach Police department and personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, the New Jersey State Police Marine Services Unit, the Point Pleasant Beach Fire Company and first aid and fire companies from Bay Head and Mantoloking and dive teams from Brick, Brielle and Point Pleasant Beach started searching for her.

Police said boats, helicopters and ground crews were looking for Oravcova. The Coast Guard said it launched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Station Manasquan Inlet and a MH-65 Dolphin aircrew from Air Station Atlantic City to search for the missing swimmer.

After she remained missing following the initial search, Oravcova was entered into the FBI National Crime Information Center's missing person database, according to borough police.

Nationally, 3,602 people drowned unintentionally in 2015, the latest year for which data is available, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At least seven people have died so far this year from drowning in Monmouth and Ocean counties:

April 28 – The body of clammer Christopher Hugg, 45, of Tuckerton was discovered on Middle Island in Barnegat Bay, more than four months after he was reported missing by his family. Hugg died from drowning, according to the New Jersey State Police.

June 15 – Two cousins - Mitzi Hernandez Nicolas, 13, and Emily Gonzalez Perez, 12 – drown in Belmar. They are believed to have been caught in a riptide off the borough’s Ninth Avenue beach.

June 17 – A girl drowned in a Toms River lagoon when a boat lift with corroded wiring electrocuted her while she was swimming.

July 6 – A 30-year-old man died in a swimming pool in Jackson off East Veterans Highway. His death appeared to be accidental, police said.

July 17 – Twelve-year-old Bianca Palma of Elizabeth died a day after she was pulled from the water on Sandy Hook’s Beach E.

July 21 – A Middletown man drowned while swimming in a backyard pool on Jamestown Court.

On Sunday morning, the National Weather Service issued an updated coastal hazard warning from Saturday. It advised that there would be powerful rip currents until 6 p.m. Sunday and advised swimmers to heed the advice of lifeguards and beach patrols before entering the water.

The United States Coast Guard has requested that if anyone has information regarding this case, they should call Sector Delaware Bay at 215-271-4940.

Staff Writer Sherlon Christie:schristie@gannettnj.com

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