Body found in bay ID’d as NYer

John Santa

The body of an elderly man that was found in the waters of Little Neck Bay near a Village of Saddle Rock home two weeks ago was identified last week by Nassau County police as a resident of a New York City nursing home.

Richard Appleby, 66, had lived at Atria West 86, which is described on its Web site as a “luxury residence tailored exclusively to older New Yorkers” on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, for a little less than a year, said the nursing home’s Regional Vice President Sheridan Daniel.

Police said Appleby’s death was not a homicide. 

“We’re an enriched housing community, which means we have active residents, which require some assistance,” Daniel said. “But, it’s not a secure community.”

Daniel said Appleby was last seen on Thursday, May 24 when he did not return from a walk.

“After we did notice that he didn’t came back, as he normally did from his walk, we notified authorities to make them aware,” Daniel said.

Appleby was a retired assistant prosecutor of the Eastern District in Brooklyn and was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, said an NYPD missing persons alert issued before his body was recovered.

On Friday, May 25 at 1:50 p.m., Appleby’s body was found by an unidentified woman floating in the waters of Little Neck Bay near the rear dock area of a Bayport Lane North residence in Saddle Rock.

When his body was found, police said the man was wearing a white-collared golf shirt with the word “collegiate” and two crossed tennis rackets embroidered in blue, along with blue Adidas sweatpants.

Although Nassau homicide detectives launched an investigation into Appleby’s death, a county police spokesman said on Monday “there doesn’t appear to be any criminality” involved.

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