Teen missing in waters off Navarre

A 17-year-old Bay St. Louis, Miss., boy has been missing since Saturday afternoon, when he was last seen swimming near the Navarre Beach Pier.

Sgt. Jeremy Snow of the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office said the boy and his grandfather delivered seafood to Cocodrie’s restaurant Saturday afternoon and decided to go for a swim. The boy’s grandfather was surfing and the teen was swimming near the second sandbar east of the damaged pier when they became separated in the heavy surf about 6 p.m., Snow said.

“Our flag service goes down when the lifeguards go off duty, but with the rough surf, it would have been red flag conditions,”  Snow said. A red flag indicates dangerous conditions and warns swimmers to stay out of the water.

A U.S. Coast Guard boat searched the area throughout the night, dropping beacons to study drift and searching for any sign of the boy, Snow said. A Coast Guard search plane joined the boat Sunday morning and, for more than six straight hours, the two patrolled the area with no sign of the missing swimmer. The Coast Guard postponed its search about 2 p.m. Sunday.

More than 30 Navarre Community Emergency Response Team volunteers were posted along the shore between the east end of Navarre Beach and Opal Beach in the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and the Sheriff's Office and county Search and Rescue Team deployed riders on four-wheelers to patrol the beaches.

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The American Red Cross, St. Sylvester Catholic Church Knights of Columbus and other volunteers also offered assistance during the search.

A CERT official said the windy conditions and active, churning surf hampered search efforts.

The boys' grandfather was taken to a local hotel and his family notified of the teen's disappearance. The Sheriff's Office was withholding the identities of the grandfather and missing teen until the teen's fate is determined.