Authorities have suspended the search for a 15-year-old boy who disappeared while swimming with friends amid rip currents in the waters off Huntington Beach, Calif.
The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement on Monday, July 29, that it suspended the search off the Huntington Beach Pier a day after the teen disappeared while in the water with his friends near lifeguard tower 11, south of Huntington Beach Pier.
Ocean waves were approximately 2 to 5 feet high on July 28, with strong rip currents throughout the day, officials said.
“A Coast Guard 45-foot response boatcrew from Station Los Angeles-Long Beach, an Air Station San Diego Jayhawk helicopter crew, and the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Blackfin were dispatched to search the area,” the agency said. But authorities paused the search on July 30 around 8 p.m. local time.
“The decision to suspend an active search is never easy and is only made after exhaustive efforts to find the missing person,” Capt. Stacey Crecy, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach, said in a statement. “Our hearts ache for his family and friends.”
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The teenager, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was slated to begin his sophomore year at Huntington Beach High School in the fall. One of his close friends, Love Che-Howell, told ABC affiliate KABC that his disappearance was “heartbreaking.”
“We just came out here and started looking for him on the beach, and we just saw there were cars everywhere,” she said. “There were helicopters. The whole ocean was lit up.”
Numerous partner agencies aided the search, including Huntington Beach Lifeguards, Orange County Fire Authority, Huntington Beach Fire Department and Huntington Beach Police Department. The authorities spent the next 20 hours covering approximately 105 square miles, from Bolsa Chica Wetlands to Newport.
“The Coast Guard urges beachgoers to exercise caution prior to entering the water. Strong rip currents can be dangerous, even for the strongest swimmers,” the agency noted. A rip current is a narrow, fast-moving channel of water that starts near the beach and extends offshore through the line of breaking waves.”
If caught in a rip current, the Coast Guard recommends that people stay calm, keep their heads above water and not struggle against it. Instead, swim parallel to the shore instead of towards the rip current.
