A round-the-clock search for a Hempstead boy who disappeared while swimming in Long Beach was called off Wednesday as hopes for his survival in the Atlantic Ocean dimmed. Over the course of less than 24 hours, scores of people from more than a dozen agencies, along with off-duty lifeguards and private vessels, had scoured the shoreline and miles of ocean for the 10-year-old boy. Long Beach authorities and the Coast Guard, whose crews kept looking overnight by boat, said they ended efforts mainly due to the length of time the boy had been missing, the water temperature and the currents. The child had on only his swim trunks and no life jacket when he went swimming Tuesday with his brother, 11, said Capt. Kevin B. Reed, commander of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. The two brothers had taken a bus by themselves to the beach, Long Beach police said, and they were swimming near Ocean Beach Park, off Edwards Boulevard, when they became separated just before 6 p.m. as the waters got choppy. “The two of them apparently try to leave the water,” said Lt. Eric Cregeen of Long Beach police. “The 11-year-old got out, turns around and sees his brother was having trouble and was submerged.” Get the Nassau news this week newsletter! The biggest news, politics and crime stories in Nassau County, in your inbox every Friday at noon. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. The decision to pack up came after Coast Guard commanders met the boy’s mother on the boardwalk, near where her son went missing, and showed her nautical charts. They explained how the Coast Guard conducts searches for missing persons and asked whether she had any questions. The mother, driven by a man, declined to comment as they left Long Beach. The boy’s two young aunts were also at the scene and requested to go on a Coast Guard boat, but the search ended before they could, said Paul Gillespie, Long Beach lifeguard chief. “This is an exhausting thing mentally,” Gillespie said. “You hate to see such a young boy like that pass away in that type of situation.” Reports from 911 callers set off a water and air search about 6 p.m. Tuesday, Cregeen said. Gillespie said about 20 off-duty lifeguards swam along the shoreline, including Edwin Moriarty, 20, of Long Beach, who was part of a group that systematically “swept” through waters about 100 yards off the beach Tuesday as boat crews searched further out. “The waters were choppy,” Moriarty said. “It was ripping out hard. It definitely was not easy to search.” He added, “I felt awful for the family, and I just wanted to find him.” The Coast Guard said first responders covered more than 310 nautical miles. On Tuesday, after about two hours of searching, Long Beach fire and police officials deemed the effort a recovery mission. The Coast Guard, however, continued to characterize it as a rescue effort into Wednesday. The boy’s 11-year-old brother was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where his mother joined him Tuesday, officials said. He was in good condition but had been kept overnight for observation, Cregeen said. Detectives talked to the mother at the hospital Tuesday night to piece together what had happened, he said. Lifeguards are not on duty full-time until Saturday, when the beaches are fully open for the summer, city officials said. Gillespie, who has directed many rescue efforts, said he felt more motivation among the searchers than in previous missions, perhaps because the victim was so young. “Maybe it was because it was the first (search) of the summer, I don’t know,” he said. “I hope it’s the last.” The Coast Guard requested that anyone with information on the case call Sector Long Island Sound at 203-468-4401. With John Asbury, William Murphy and Ellen Yan CORRECTION: The boy missing in the waters off Long Beach is 10 years old and the beaches are fully open for the summer on Saturday. In a previous version of this story, the age was incorrect based on information provided by authorities and the opening day was incorrect.<doc-sep>LONG BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Two young brothers went into the water off Long Beach on Long Island, but only one came out alive. CBS2’s Cindy Hsu heard from their heartbroken father Wednesday. “I’m just going to go find my son and I’m going to get him out of the water,” Ramell McRae said. Police said 10-year-old Ramell, originally identified as an 8-year-old boy, took a bus with his 11-year-old brother Jaquan to the beach from Hempstead, where they live. They were in the water when Ramell went missing just before 6 p.m. Tuesday near Ocean Beach Park. “They should have just asked me. I would have just took them,” their father said, adding he didn’t know where they were going. Rescue crews used jet skies and boats as lifeguards formed a human chain to scour the water for the child. Long Beach resident Mel Borowka witnessed the response. “It was terrible,” he said. “There were a lot of people helping and looking and trying to do whatever they can to help.” Officials said the area the boys were in is extremely dangerous. “The conditions aren’t great in the water. There is very low visibility, so it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” said Long Beach Fire Commissioner Scott Kemins. “There is a rip current, it’s the Atlantic Ocean. They went in the water near the jetties and that’s the most dangerous place to go in the water.” Along with the dangerous conditions, there are currently no lifeguards on duty during the week with warning signs saying that swimming is not allowed, CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis reported. Officials say Saturday is the first day of full-time lifeguards. Despite the warning signs, Long Beach residents said more safeguards should be in place. “There are drownings here constantly, yes, and again there’s big signs, ‘no using the beach, no swimming after 5,'” said Borowka. “I don’t want to have to tell you how many teenagers are out here swimming all night.” “This is not a swimming beach. There should be more patrol here,” another woman said. “This is every year. When is it going to stop? What are they going to do to protect this community?” “I think you have to watch your children, whether or not there’s a lifeguard,” said beach visitor Carol Hofman. “I do not take my eyes off of my children.” The U.S Coast Guard suspended its search for the missing child Wednesday morning, after crews from multiple agencies spent 22 hours searching more than 310-nautical miles. “It’s never easy to talk to a family when there’s a person missing,” said USCG Chief of Response Commander Andrew Ely. “That’s why we treat every one of these cases as if it’s our own.” Anyone with information is asked to call Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound at 203-468-4401.<doc-sep>Crime & Safety Long Beach Missing Swimmer: 8-Year-Old Boy Feared Dead An 8-year-old boy is feared dead after he reportedly became caught in a powerful rip current in the ocean. Reply LONG BEACH, NY – An 8-year-old boy is feared dead after he reportedly became caught in a powerful rip current in the ocean off Long Beach Tuesday evening. "All water rescue operations have been suspended for the night," the Long Beach Fire Department wrote on its Facebook page at 9:50 p.m. The missing boy was was last seen last seen swimming with his 11-year-old brother near Ocean Beach Park off Edwards Boulevard around 6 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release. The older boy tried to hold onto his brother when they got caught in a rip current, but they were pulled apart, Long Beach Fire Commissioner Scott Kemins said, according to an NBC 4 report. Lifeguards were not on duty at the beach at the time. Long Beach lifeguards begin full-time summer staffing this weekend.<doc-sep>Standing on a stretch of sand in Long Beach, friends and family of the 10-year-old boy who vanished in the surf during a swim with his brother this week lit candles and released balloons in his honor. More than 100 people gathered at a vigil for the boy, who disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean Tuesday when he and his 11-year-old brother were swimming near Ocean Beach Park, off Edwards Boulevard. The two became separated just before 6 p.m. as the waters got choppy, Long Beach police have said. The boys, who had taken a bus by themselves to the beach, were apparently trying to leave when the currents pulled one of them away, police said. “We’re here for hope because we have belief that he’s going to be found,” said a man who identified himself as the father of the missing boy. “This is my child. Whatever it takes to get my child back, that’s what’s going to happen.” The group gathered on the boardwalk, some carrying green balloons — symbolizing what they said was the color of hope — and walked to the beach, where a pastor led members in prayer. Several people spoke in support of the grieving family, including Hempstead Village Mayor Don Ryan. “This is a difficult time,” he said. “And your prayer and all your thoughts and your presence mean an awful lot to the family.” Get the Nassau news this week newsletter! The biggest news, politics and crime stories in Nassau County, in your inbox every Friday at noon. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. A round-the-clock search for the boy was called off Wednesday by the U.S. Coast Guard and Long Beach authorities. A spokesman for the Nassau County police department said its Marine Bureau and Aviation units are “assigned” to search the area during the day, weather and sea conditions permitting. “The Police Department did not call off the search and we are still searching for the victim along the inner beach line and off shore areas,” Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said. A man who identified himself as the boy’s grandfather stood at the water’s edge Thursday and looked out into the vast ocean. “I am just looking at the water, wondering where he’s at,” the man said.<doc-sep>
Crime & Safety Search Suspended For Boy Missing In Waters Off Long Beach The boy and his brother went swimming Tuesday afternoon and got separated. His brother was rescued Tuesday night. Reply UPDATED, 5 P.M.: The Long Beach Police Department has confirmed that the search for the 10-year-old has been called off. Officials called off the search Wednesday afternoon, not long after the Coast Guard called off its search. The 10-year-old boy, who is now presumed dead, and his 11-year-old brother were swimming in the water around a jetty near Edwards Boulevard when they were grabbed by a rip tide. The 11-year-old managed to make it back to shore, but his brother did not. Rescuers from the Coast Guard, the Long Beach police and fire departments, and fire departments from all over the South Shore, exhaustively combed the water around the beach for hours, searching hundreds of nautical miles. Heartbreak in Long Beach where this mother lost her 10 year old son. The Coast Guard called off their search for the boy this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/rVMKZH32a0 — Colleen McVey (@ColleenMcVey12) June 20, 2018 UPDATE, 11:55 A.M.: The US Coast Guard announced around 11:15 a.m. that it was suspending its search for the 10-year-old boy who went missing in Long Beach waters. The Coast Guard announced the suspension of a search in a release. The agency had devoted three boat crews and two helicopter crews to the search, covering more than 310 nautical miles. Other agencies, including the Long Beach police and fire department, are continuing the search. ORIGINAL STORY: As the sun rose on Wednesday, rescuers in Long Beach got back to work searching for a missing 10-year-old boy who became lost in the water Tuesday evening while swimming with his brother. The boy, who was originally identified as being 8 years old, went swimming with his brother in the waters of Ocean Beach Park near Edwards Boulevard around 6 p.m. The older boy, who is 11, tried to hold onto his brother when they got caught in a rip current, but they were pulled apart, Long Beach Fire Commissioner Scott Kemins said, according to an NBC 4 report. The two boys, from Hempstead, have not yet been identified. The older boy managed to make it back to shore safely. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Rescuers had to suspend the search once darkness fell on Tuesday, making it difficult to see in the water. Long Beach police stayed on the beach all night.