By:KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
A search for the missing 15-year-old boy, whose identity as of press time remained unknown, continued for hours Wednesday, June 19, before rescue workers finally found his body about two blocks west just past 4 p.m. The rescuers fruitlessly attempted CPR before rushing the youth to Long Beach Medical Center. By then, the teen had been underwater for four hours, police said.
Police did not comment on the cause of the tragedy before press time, but witnesses recounted the events which led to the boy's drowning. The four teens were swimming alongside the jetties, witnesses said. Though uncertain of the water depth, one witness said that at one point the water was waist deep, but then suddenly it was over your head.
"When the wave came, he tried to get away from it and he got smashed into the jetties," 13-year old Kevin O'Neil said. "They shouldn't have been out by the jetties."
Lifeguards were not on-duty at the time of the accident. They are only present on weekends until the beach officially opens full-time next Wednesday.
O'Neil and his friends were boogie boarding when they saw the teen in trouble. One of the victim's friends asked the boarders for help, and they paddled to where the victim was last seen. Meanwhile, another friend ran onto the jetties and tried to show the boarders where his friend disappeared.
"We paddled out and tried to find him, but we couldn't find him. We tried," 14-year old Erick Valdez said. Valdez said he thought the teen was hit by a wave and pushed towards the jetties, possibly causing him to hit his head.
While the boarders were searching for the teen, Long Beach resident Bobby Dees ran to help the missing kid. "He was the first one in," said 13-year old David Machica, who was boogie boarding with his friends.
"I watched them swimming," he said. "They tried to hold on to him but they lost him. They couldn't help him." Machica went into the water and also tried to find the teen, he said.
The boarders sat on the shore watching the mass of rescuers search for the missing teen, while many on-lookers questioned the events. Richard McElligott, a resident of Point Lookout, said, "Every year this happens here. The kids are very adventurous. Why not start the lifeguards earlier?"
As police wheeled away the boy's bicycle, rescuers had continued to search the jetties, helicopters flew above, and divers combed the ocean until the body was found.
One witness, who stood by the roped-off area where the teen's friends sat with their heads in the laps, said, "They say he just disappeared. They turned and he was gone."
Elizabeth Sagarin contributed to this article.
