Frantic nighttime search as teen goes missing in ocean off Huntington Beach amid strong rip currents

A desperate search has been launched after a teenager disappeared while swimming in the sea with a friend.

The two teens went swimming near a lifeguard tower in Huntington Beach, California, but only one returned. The alarm was raised at around 9pm on Sunday evening.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department is aiding the search with a helicopter, and lifeguards from Newport Beach and state parks are also helping. The divers and swimmers were pulled out of the water at about 10:40 pm, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Jennifer Carey, Huntington Beach’s public affairs manager, said. The search continued on land and in the air.

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The teen had gone swimming with another person who got out of the water and realized the other was missing, Carey said. The location was near Lifeguard Tower 11, which is between Twin Dolphin and Huntington streets.

There were strong rip currents earlier in the day, she said. The gender and age of the missing teen was not immediately available.

The search comes as a community in Maine has been left grieving after two teenage step-brothers drowned in an unrelated incident at a popular swimming area earlier this month.

Tavayne Weir, 17, and his stepbrother D'andre Graham, 16, didn't return home after visiting the Holdsworth Park on Sunday, July 7, according to a release from the Sanford Police Department. Sadly, their bodies were found on Monday July 8 in the Mousam River following an intensive overnight search, according to police.

After the brothers missed their curfew, the Sanford Police Department was notified at 11 p.m. local time. The release said: "Sanford Police along with Sanford Fire Dept. responded to Holdsworth Park and located the juvenile's vehicle. We don't know if they were jumping or just swimming because we don't know exactly what time they went in."

A GoFundMe page was created to help their family help transport their bodies back to Jamaica and be laid to rest there. The page's description said: "They showed incredible courage and loyalty, holding on to each other until the very end, demonstrating the deep bond they shared.

"Tavayne and D'andre always considered each other brothers, and when their parents Kerryan and Morris got married last year, it made their brother bond official.

"They were more than stepbrothers; they were true brothers to each other. Growing up in Jamaica, they did everything together, from playing basketball and riding bikes to gaming."