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WPLG Local 10\/YouTube<\/p>\n
First responders search for missing boy at Fort Lauderdale Beach on April 18, 2025<\/p>\n
A 12-year-old boy went missing while swimming at Fort Lauderdale Beach in Florida during a basketball team bonding trip. A few hours later, he was found dead in the water.<\/p>\n
Officials began scouring the ocean in search of the child \u2014 who has not yet been publicly identified by authorities \u2014 in the early evening of Friday, April 18, according to Miami outlet NBC 6<\/a> and CBS News<\/a>.<\/p>\n The boy had been visiting Fort Lauderdale with the Team Jordan Basketball Club, his basketball team from Lake Worth, Fla., according to another Miami outlet, WPLG Local 10<\/a>. Several parents had accompanied the team for the bonding trip, per NBC 6.<\/p>\n One parent told WPLG Local 10 that the boy was swimming in a group in the ocean when the water became \u201crough.” The area was under a high rip current risk, in effect through Sunday, April 20 \u2014 leading lifeguards on the scene to intervene.<\/p>\n The lifeguards brought three of the swimmers safely ashore but could not locate the missing 12-year-old, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n Related: 11-Year-Old Texas Boy, Who Died After Falling into a Creek, Remembered as ‘One of the Most Kind-Hearted Young Men’<\/a><\/p>\n After the preteen was reported missing, the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue (FLFR) began searching the water at around 4:30 p.m. local time, and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD) subsequently joined the effort, per CBS News.<\/p>\n The FLFR later ended its search, but the U.S. Coast Guard and FLPD continued looking for the young boy, according to WPLG Local 10. The police dive team took over the underwater search at around 7 p.m., per CBS News.<\/p>\n After about another hour of searching, the dive team found the boy\u2019s body just after 8 p.m., NBC 6 and CBS News reported. Police determined that the cause of death was accidental drowning, according to the outlets.<\/p>\n The Fort Lauderdale Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE\u2019s request for comment on April 19.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n The boys\u2019 teammates and their parents, many of whom looked on during the hours-long search, spoke with WSVN<\/a> after the tragic discovery was made.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s Good Friday; it shouldn\u2019t be like that,\u201d one girl told the Miami outlet. \u201cWe should be praying to see if everybody\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n “You don\u2019t want to ever hear this, or see all of this,\u201d the girl\u2019s mother told WSVN, adding, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing else we could do.\u201d<\/p>\n