14-year-old swept away while swimming with friend off Washington coast, officials say

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for a 14-year-old boy reported missing after swimming with a friend on the Washington coast, officials said.

The teen’s friend reported him missing Monday afternoon after he lost sight of him offshore near Long Beach, according to a news release from the 13th District Pacific Northwest.

The friend told officials the 14-year-old was last seen in a red swimmers cap, a gray T-shirt and black swim shorts, officials said. Search crews from the Coast Guard and multiple other agencies responded to the scene around 2:30 p.m., using a helicopter and lifeboat to find the teen.

Officials searched an area of 52 square miles, completing eight searches in about 18 hours, according to the release. The search was suspended just before 10:30 p.m. Monday.

“Suspending search efforts is always an extremely difficult and heart-wrenching decision, especially when involving children,” Capt. Nathan Coulter, chief of incident management for the 13th Coast Guard District, said in the release. “This was a real tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the young man involved.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 1:19 PM with the headline "14-year-old swept away while swimming with friend off Washington coast, officials say."