Swept to Her Death by Sandy’s Wrath

    Edith Wright, known to people in Montauk as Deet, died on Monday afternoon when she was apparently swept into the ocean by Hurricane Sandy’s violent surge. Her body was discovered on Georgica Beach in East Hampton, over 16 miles away, on Tuesday morning.

    A passer-by noticed her body about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and called East Hampton Village police.

    Ms. Wright, whose husband, Norvell, died several years ago, leaves her daughters, Kiah, 23, and Laini, 18. Friends and family will gather at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. and at the Dock restaurant in Montauk next Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. A community benefit for Ms. Wright’s daughters is being planned.

    Kiah Wright said yesterday that neither she nor her sister were home when her mother left their house on Montauk Highway just east of the Montauk Community Church to walk the family dog.

    There were no eyewitnesses to what happened on the beach despite pervasive rumors to the contrary. There were no 911 calls to police.

    “There is nothing concrete. A few men saw her walking our dog behind my house toward the dunes by the Surf Club,” Kiah Wright said. The time was about 5:30 p.m. as conditions were deteriorating rapidly.

    The National Weather Service’s marine weather service reported 16 to 24-foot waves in Block Island Sound at the time. The Montauk Lighthouse Museum reported the ocean had risen to the top of the rock revetment that bends into Turtle Cove, a height of nearly 30 feet above the beach, completely inundating the cove. The current was moving east-to-west down the south shore at great speed with a tremendous shore break and landward surge.

    At the time of her death Deet Wright was working as a teacher’s aide at the Montauk School. She worked for Dave’s Grill restaurant during the summer.

    Kiah Wright said her mother had never wanted a memorial service. She will be cremated.