A 17-year-old boy has gone missing in the Atlantic off one of North Carolina’s popular beach destinations, searchers say.The teen, from the Jacksonville area, is believed to have been caught in a rip current around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, according to officials in North Topsail Beach.A search is ongoing and has expanded to include the U.S. Coast Guard, officials said.“Several young men were swimming and had gone out to a nearby sandbar at Low Tide. As the tide was coming in, they started to make their wa...
A 17-year-old boy has gone missing in the Atlantic off one of North Carolina’s popular beach destinations, searchers say.
The teen, from the Jacksonville area, is believed to have been caught in a rip current around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, according to officials in North Topsail Beach.
A search is ongoing and has expanded to include the U.S. Coast Guard, officials said.
“Several young men were swimming and had gone out to a nearby sandbar at Low Tide. As the tide was coming in, they started to make their way back to shore and found themselves fighting against a rip current,” officials said in the release.
“All the young men except one made it to shore, some with much difficulty, and relayed seeing the victim struggling and going under as they were attempting to get to shore. No one was able to make it to him and all units began a search of the area.”
The identity of the teen has not been released.
The search, which includes a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, has been focused on waters along Beach Access #4 at 484 New River Inlet Road, officials said.
“At daylight a more intense search began on the beach area for several miles, along with drone flights,” officials said.
Rip currents, powerful channels of current that flow away from the shore, are a frequent cause of drownings off the Carolinas, experts say.
“Rip current speeds are typically 1 to 2 feet per second, but speeds as high as 8 feet per second have been measured,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports.
“Drowning deaths occur when people, pulled away from the shoreline, are unable to keep themselves afloat and swim to shore. This may be due to any combination of fear, panic, exhaustion, or lack of swimming skills. Once people become tired, they can easily go under without flotation to hold onto.”
North Topsail Beach is about a 140-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.