The marathon swimmer who disappeared near the George Washington Bridge during a 120-mile race on the Hudson River is an internationally recognized AIDS researcher and former professor at the University of North Carolina.
Charles Van Der Horst, 67, of Chapel Hill, vanished on the New Jersey side of the bridge Friday afternoon during the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim, which stretches from the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Catskill to the Verrazzano Bridge.
Authorities resumed the search for him Saturday around 10:30 a.m., an NYPD spokesman said.
He was a professor at UNC from 1988 to 2015, began doing clinical trials after he retired from teaching, and also works with health organizations in Africa that focus on AIDS.
Van Der Horst is also a key player in North Carolina’s “Moral Mondays” demonstrations, a weekly protest initially sparked by the state’s law to prohibit transgender people from using the public restroom of their choice. Van Der Horst told local media he joined the movement after state lawmakers rejected the expansion of Medicaid.
“My heart is so heavy,” the Rev. Dr. William Barber, the founder of Moral Mondays, posted on Twitter. “Dr Van Der Horst is among my deepest friends. I’m praying & crying for his family & so hoping there is a chance he is still with us.”
University of Minnesota professor David Boulware posted on Facebook that when he was asked a few years ago to name his hero in the infectious disease field, he named Van Der Horst. “I couldn’t come up with a close second. Dr. Van der Horst was both a passionate clinician, researcher, and advocate.”
“He exhibited political activism when North Carolina legislature refused to expand Medicaid,” Boulware wrote. “He saw firsthand how policy impacted people’s lives and didn’t stand by on the sidelines watching people die. He protested and was arrested on numerous occasions at the NC State Capitol.”
Race organizer New York Open Water canceled the final leg of the race scheduled for Saturday.
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