West Point cadet on ventilator after trying to save swimmer

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) - Officials say a West Point cadet from Missouri is on life support after he tried to save a swimmer who was caught in a rip current off a Long Island beach.

Police say 18-year-old Thomas Surdyke, of Festus, Missouri, was pulled from the waters following a rescue attempt on Friday at Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York.

Newsday reports (http://nwsdy.li/295jz3C ) Janice Laiben Surdyke, who says she's his mother, posted on Facebook late Tuesday that he would be on a ventilator for the next 48 hours so he can donate his organs.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point says a cadet is on life support following a Long Island beach incident but couldn't release further details.

Officials say the swimmer Surdyke tried to rescue is OK.

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Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com