FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A large-scale search at sea for a young swimmer off the coast of Fort Lauderdale ended with a tragic discovery.
Divers have located the body of a 12-year-old boy who was reported missing off Fort Lauderdale Beach, police said.
7Skyforce hovered above the water off the 800 block of Seabreeze Boulevard, near Harbor Drive and the International Swimming Hall of Fame, at around 5:15 p.m. on Friday.
According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, four young people who went swimming were in distress.
Family members told 7News the swimmers are part of a basketball team visiting from Lake Worth.
“No parent wants to do this, so, of course we’re here for the boys,” said a teammate’s mother. “They still have hope.”
The teammate’s mother, who asked not to be identified or show her face on camera, said her son and three others needed some help due to the rough surf.
“They were having a hard time, I guess, getting back in, and they got my son and the other boy,” she said. “The one boy was out there, and they kept saying, ‘He’s out there, he’s out there, there’s another one out there.'”
A group of beachgoers also spoke with 7News.
“We hear that there were, like, four people by the white buoys over there, and there’s four people in the water, three of them came to shore, but they didn’t hear about the fourth one coming,” said a teenage girl.
“Past the white [buoys], like, as soon as you go [past], it gets like really deep and, like, you can’t see anyone,” said another teenage girl.
Lifeguards were able to help bring three of the swimmers back to shore, but they were not able to locate the 12-year-old, who was wearing orange shorts.
“We just saw all of the lifeguards running to the water, and there was a lot of cops all over the place,” said witness Ruth Gomez.
With almost the precision of synchronized swimmers, lifeguards were seen combing the ocean floor as an official on a personal watercraft directed the search 30 to 40 yards off shore.
“It was definitely a scary scene. There were lifeguards from both ends of the water, as well as civilans who were in the water, all running in to try and help,” said a witness.
On the sand, Fort Lauderdale Police officers were seen speaking with the swimmers who made it to shore and family members.
U.S. Coast Guard and Broward Sheriff’s Office crews are also assisting in the search.
7News cameras captured a BSO helicopter scanning the water.
The missing boy’s teammates waited and watched. They’re members of the Team Jordan travel team, made up of boys of largely middle school age.
This beach trip should have been a fun one to begin the holiday weekend, but as the late afternoon moved into evening, the heartbreaking news came.
Just after 8 p.m., police said, FLPD’s Dive Team located the boy’s body.
“Today’s Good Friday; it shouldn’t be like that. We should be praying to see if everybody’s OK,” said a teenage girl.
“You don’t want to ever hear this, or see all of this, so there’s nothing else we could do,” said the teammate’s mother.
Investigators said this appears to have been an accidental drowning. However, police will conduct a death investigation.
The discovery of the swimmer’s body comes as a rip current warning is in place and is expected to remain in place for Miami-Dade and Broward throughout the weekend.
Officials urge swimmers not to fight a rip current and swim parallel to shore until they are out of the current. If they are out of the current, officials advise swimmers to tread water until they are rescued. Officials also urge beachgoers to only swim at guarded beaches.
A small craft advisory was also issued Friday due to the strong winds, and it is also in effect for the Florida Keys.
As of late Friday night, investigators have not released the boy’s name.
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