Advertisement

‘Active’ search ends for young man, 18, presumed to have drowned in water off Mission Beach

Family and friends of a missing 18-year-old swimmer gathered Wednesday at Mission Beach as lifeguards searched for his body.
Family and friends of a missing 18-year-old swimmer gathered Wednesday at Mission Beach as lifeguards searched for his body a day after he was pulled underwater and never resurfaced. As of Friday, the search for the body was no longer active.
(Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Officials have not released the name of the 18-year-old swimmer who was pulled under by rough currents Tuesday afternoon

Share

The active search has ended for the body of a teenage swimmer who is presumed dead after strong rip currents pulled him underwater in Mission Beach earlier this week.

Lifeguards did not send divers into the water to look for him Friday, San Diego Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Mónica Muñoz said.

While the search is not active, lifeguards are still watching for the body of the 18-year-old, whose name had not been released.

Friday marked the start of additional summer staffing for San Diego lifeguards, and crews will patrol the shore and in the water as part of their normal duties, Muñoz said.

“So there is searching going on but it’s not an active search as it was the first three days,” she said in an email.

The drowning happened in the water off Jersey Court, north of Belmont Park and near lifeguard tower 16.

Around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a lifeguard spotted a group of swimmers and noticed one appeared to be struggling, Muñoz said earlier this week.

The guard radioed for other lifeguards to help with potential rescues. They pulled two teens from the water, but a third submerged and disappeared.

Advertisement