Coast Guard suspends search for missing teens off New York City beach

The Coast Guard suspended a search Saturday for two teenagers who went missing in the water at a busy New York City beach a day earlier.

The boys, who police say are 16 and 17 years old, went missing Friday just a few minutes after lifeguards went off duty.

The boys were swimming at Jacob Riis Park in Queens when witnesses say they saw a huge wave overtake them and the two never resurfaced. Rescuers from the New York Fire Department were deployed into the water after receiving an emergency call just after 6 p.m., but even the most experienced swimmers and divers were called back to shore.

The search spanned a total of more than 600 square miles, according to the Coast Guard. It involved helicopter, air and boat crews.

Drones and helicopters deployed from a nearby airfield circled the area Saturday morning. Officials had vowed to find the boys in what became a recovery effort.

Jonathan Andrechik, commander of the New York Coast Guard sector, said Saturday that its crews and partner agencies — including the New York Police Department and FDNY — conducted an “exhaustive search.”

“The decision to suspend a search is always difficult and weighs heavily on all involved,” Andrechik said.

The teens have not been identified and the NYPD said it’s unclear if they knew how to swim. NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry added that the situation is a parent’s worst nightmare.

“We think that it may be a riptide, but that’s still under investigation,” Daughtry had said Friday.