Search efforts continue in North Topsail Beach for a missing 17-year-old from Jacksonville who disappeared last Wednesday.
Last Wednesday, on Oct. 8, a group of teens from Jacksonville came here to access 4, North Topsail Beach, for an afternoon swim. According to rescue officials, they got caught up in rip currents and all but one struggled to get back to shore and has been missing since then.
We spoke with the North Topsail police chief to get the latest updates on the search. North Topsail police, along with the fire department and the US Coast Guard, searched for the missing teen since Oct. 8.
Police Chief William Younginer tells us the missing teen got caught up in a rip current while swimming near Access 4 and was unable to get back to shore.
The weather this weekend made the search dangerous, with rough surf and dangerous currents.
The weather gave us a hard time this weekend. We had tides and high tides—it was washing away at the dunes. That water is up very high lots of debris People’s decks were washing up on the beach.
Chief Younginer says search crews are committed to finding the teen.
Your first thoughts are, we’re going to find him after a period, you need some kind of closure.
Despite rumors in the community, officials say the search is far from over.
I just got a call from one of the family members saying somebody told him the search was off. The search is not offwe are still continuing to look for the young man.
The police chief wants the community to know that the search is ongoing and an active rescue.