Two men were rescued and one teen remained missing and was presumed dead after an accident Friday evening along the shoreline of Long Beach, Fire Department officials said.
A "surf rescue" call came in around 8 p.m., Long Beach fire Chief Kyle Jewell said Saturday.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the two men saw the boy struggling to swim and tried to rescue him. The men had to be rescued by a Pacific County rescue swimmer on a Jet Ski.
Rescue teams could not find the 15-year-old boy. The men were taken to a hospital for possible hypothermia.
The search, which included Coast Guard personnel, extended into early Saturday but has been suspended. Crews searched for about five hours by motor lifeboat and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, covering more than 100 nautical miles.
"It is always a heartbreaking decision to suspend and the Coast Guard sends our deepest condolences to the family and friends affected by this tragedy," Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier said in an email.
Details on how the adults and teenager were connected were not available Saturday. It was also unclear where the three were from.
Temperatures at the beach were in the low 60s Friday, with winds reaching up to 15 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Despite the warm temperatures forecast for Memorial Day weekend, Jewell urged caution for beachgoers.
"You get extremely cold, you make poor judgment calls and your body just doesn't react the way it should," Jewell said. "It's not California. It's not southern Oregon, it is the Washington coast, and the waters here are extremely cold year-round."
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