Huntington Beach residents gathered Tuesday for a vigil in honor of the teenager who went swimming in the ocean and failed to return earlier this week.
Candles and flowers rest near the pier in Huntington Beach a day after the Coast Guard announced it suspended its extensive search for the 15-year-old boy.
“The decision to suspend an active search is never easy and is only made after exhaustive efforts to find the missing person,” said Capt. Stacey Crecy, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach. “Our hearts ache for his family and friends.”
“A lot of the people here today — the mothers and fathers –they are here to show support and that’s why we call it “HB ohana;” we are all here to show support,” said Bushman Orozco, a Huntington Beach resident who attended the vigil.
First responders received a call at about 9 p.m. Sunday about the missing swimmer and began a search with lifeguards in the water, on land and in the air with a helicopter from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, according to Jennifer Carey, Huntington Beach’s public affairs manager.
The unidentified teen had gone swimming with another person who got out of the water and realized the teen was missing, Carey said. The location was near Lifeguard Tower 11, which is between Twin Dolphin and Huntington Streets.
There were strong rip currents earlier in the day, she said.
The search spanned from the Bolsa Chica Wetlands to Newport, with crews searching by air and sea for nearly 20 hours, covering approximately 105 square miles, according to the Coast Guard.