Search Resumes For Missing Teen Swimmer Off Rockaway Beach
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Rescue crews started their search again on Sunday morning for a teenage swimmer authorities say went missing in the waters off Rockaway Beach.
Police switched from rescue to recovery operations in their search for 17-year-old Lamine Sarr, who was last seen in the water near Beach 86th Street just before 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
"I got a little nervous or more worried when you saw what was like deep see divers," said witness Marilyn Torres. "It's heartbreaking to know someone's child is not coming home."
Sources told CBS2 aviation and diving units were combing the area to find the teen who was swimming with friends when he went missing.
Officials suspended the search Saturday night after about two hours, adding that the rip current made the search exceedingly difficult.
Lifeguards are no longer on duty at Rockaway Beach after Labor Day.
Around the same time as the Rockaway search, police down on the Jersey Shore pulled a man from rough waters off of Seaside Heights. Police say a wave may have broken the man's neck and he drowned.
Hurricane Florence, which quickly downgraded as a storm after making landfall, was predicted to cause dangerous rip currents as it approached the East Coast.