Teen Lost in Rough Surf at Huntington

HUNTINGTON BEACH — A search resumed Saturday for a 13-year-old Compton boy who disappeared in rough surf Friday afternoon as lifeguards tried to rescue him and his two sisters off Huntington State Beach.

The youth was lost and presumed drowned about 5:15 p.m. Friday after he became separated from his sisters in choppy waters in front of lifeguard tower 15 near Beach Boulevard. His name was not released.

Rescuers saved the two girls, ages 8 and 10, but their brother apparently slipped beneath the surface before he could be reached, lifeguards said. Earlier, the girls had clung to the boy for a while when they became panicky in the rough water about 50 to 100 yards offshore.

The search, which involved a rescue boat, a police helicopter and 10 lifeguards, began about 5:30 p.m. Friday, but was called off at nightfall except for patrols along the shoreline.

Meanwhile, the condition of an 18-year-old Lake Elsinore youth who broke his neck in the surf off San Clemente on Friday has improved, according to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center.

Curtis Swann was listed in serious condition Saturday. He had been reported in critical condition Friday evening in Mission Hospital’s intensive care unit after being airlifted from a beach near the exclusive Cypress Shores neighborhood. Swann dived head-first into the ocean about 5 p.m. Friday and hit the bottom.