Westchester teenager drowns off Shelter Island after separating from friends

Timothy Magambo’s swim from Wades Beach to Shell Beach turned deadly on Shelter Island after the 18-year-old from Pelham separated from seven friends in the channel and was later found a few hundred yards away, police said. Shelter Island police called the death an apparent drowning.

Det. Sgt. Jack Thilberg said Magambo was visiting the island with friends, including one whose family has a residence there, and the group had gone into the water for a walkout-and-swim across the channel. The crossing happened a little past 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, 2026, in water that can look deceptively manageable from shore but can become dangerous fast when swimmers are pulled off course or lose contact with the group.

The loss hits especially hard in Westchester and on Long Island because Magambo had just finished his freshman year at the University at Albany. He grew up in Pelham and graduated from Pelham Memorial High School in 2025, where he was also an honors student and an athlete, according to local reporting. His death has the shape of a summer outing gone wrong: a group of young people heading between two familiar beaches, a crossing that seemed manageable, and a separation that changed everything.

The Town of Shelter Island lists Wades Beach as a town bathing beach with lifeguards, while Shell Beach has no lifeguards. That distinction matters. Safety guidance from the American Red Cross says swimmers should stay within their fitness and swimming abilities and pay close attention to weather and water conditions. The United States Lifesaving Association says people should swim near a lifeguard and warns that rip currents and similar currents can sweep away even strong swimmers. On Shelter Island, where beaches and channels draw crowds as summer starts, Magambo’s death is a grim reminder that a short crossing between two shoreline spots is still open water, and open water demands caution.