WASHINGTONVILLE, N.Y. -- A retired detective with the New York Police Department has drowned after saving a 12-year-old boy struggling in the surf off a beach in Puerto Rico.

The New York Post reports that 44-year-old Jose Rosario was vacationing with his family when he saw the boy struggling Saturday in rough waters off Playa de Jobos, on the island's northern coast 65 miles west of San Juan.

Relatives say Rosario got the boy onto a rock but then was swept out to sea by a wave. Rosario's body was recovered Monday.

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The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports that Rosario and his family lived for more than a decade in Washingtonville, 55 miles north of New York City.

He retired after more than 20 years with the NYPD.

Funeral arrangements are pending.