WESTERLY, R.I. — A recovery effort for a New London teen, who went missing at a beach in Rhode Island was suspended Friday afternoon.
Westerly authorities said a 15-year-old boy was playing catch with a football near the jetty with his family and friends at Dune’s Park Beach on Thursday night when he suddenly got swept away by the current.
Westerly Police got the call for help shortly after.
“Approximately 7:15 (p.m.) yesterday, we have a report of a person that is unconscious, under the water, and they can’t find them,” said Chief Paul Gingerella with the Westerly Police Department. “At that point, it initiated the police department, ambulance corps, and other rescue personnel to arrive. We initially tried looking for the subject with help from the lifeguards and we just weren’t able to (locate him).”
That search went on until 11 p.m. on Thursday, with the U.S. Coast Guard taking over until about 3 a.m. Friday. After a short break, all crews came back out in the morning to search for the boy, which came up empty.
“The survivability factor decreases dramatically every moment that passes obviously and last night, some very significant weather rolled through the area as well,” said Senior Chief Ryan Burger, Officer in Charge for the United States Coast Guard Station Point Judith.
The coast guard sent a 45-foot response boat out of Point Judith, a helicopter from Cape Cod, and divers.
By late Friday afternoon, the USCG, along with local first responders, made the decision to suspend the search.
“The official search has been concluded. What that means is the coast guard is notifying the public that at this point, we don’t believe the survivability to be likely,” Burger said.
Though the official search has been suspended, both the USCG and local fire and police said they will continue to search on land with ATVs, boats, and drones. That effort, however, is much more scaled back.
“I’m going to have assets on the water from Coast Guard Station Point Judith in this area throughout the weekend,” Burger said.
Westerly police and fire plan to do the same Friday night and Saturday morning.
“We will be still on the beach. We have an ATV unit out, we have a boat still in the area. We’re still looking just not the personnel that we did earlier,” Gingerella said.
In the meantime, police said this is the second time this month that someone has gotten swept by the current near Misquamicut.
“You have to know your skillset, you have to know your ability to swim. There are undercurrents or riptides that you can’t see,” Gingerella said.
Gingerella said they are seeing a lot of out-of-towners that have been impacted by this.
“Unfortunately, we do notice that it is people that aren’t from town. It doesn’t mean it can’t happen to people in town. But, people in town are used to the water and understand that if it looks bad, it probably is bad,” Gingerella said.
At the time of the incident, one man from Lisbon, Connecticut, who grew up surfing in Misquamicut, said the water was rough with the wind and waves whipping.
“This is mother ocean. She’s relentless, she doesn’t stop, and she’s always changing every 20 minutes,” Todd Sterling said.
Sterling was surfing near Dune’s Park Beach on Thursday night when he suddenly saw a group of people who looked like they were in trouble.
“I saw a young girl pointing into the water and the last thing I saw were hands up in the air, and a body go into the water,” Sterling said.
Sterling said many people then spent the night trying to help first responders find the boy. They looked at the beaches, the sand dunes, and the rocks. But they couldn’t find the 15-year-old.
“My heart goes out to the family. Just seeing the devastation in their faces while they were crying, looking out into the dark at the ocean not knowing where their child was,” Sterling said.
The New London mayor confirmed with FOX61 News that the teenager was from his city and that the school district had been notified. The boy has not been identified.
Gingerella said many of the family members stayed at the police department overnight, unsure of what to do.
“I’m a parent, and it’s absolutely devastating. I mean it’s awful. There are no words to really say how you would feel losing a child. But it hasn’t sunk in for them yet,” Gingerella said.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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