Saturday, July 29, 2023 3:04AM
QUEENS (WABC) — A teen swimmer sparked a massive and urgent search by helicopters and drones after he went missing in the waters off Jacob Riis Park in Queens.
Divers raced back to the surf after the swimmer washed back near where he had disappeared hours earlier.
It was Dominic Nixon and his friends who spotted the 19-year-old.
“I just kept seeing a little shadow out the water – something,” Nixon said.
Police rushed the unconscious teen to a waiting ambulance and to the hospital, where he is currently in critical condition.
They had just called off a search that lasted for hours after the teen disappeared in the heavy rip current in the Rockaways.
Harold Miles was there when a group of five teens ran into the water but only four returned.
“They all just ran in – these two brothers were going in, and one was going further than the other and the other was like ‘I’m turning around, that’s too far for me,’ and turned around to go back…and looked for his brother, he was gone,” Miles said.
“No matter if you can swim or not, you’re not stronger than water,” Nixon said.
This is the second swimmer who went missing in two days. On Thursday, a teen went missing in the waters off Coney Island. As of Friday night, he was still missing.
Jacob Riis Park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Lifeguards are on duty daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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