ROCKAWAY BEACH, Ore. – A father drowned while attempting to rescue his 17-year-old son who was swept out to sea at Rockaway Beach on June 6, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The body of the boy, Samuel Allen, from Fort Collins, Colorado, was located on Friday morning. Previously a search to recover his body was suspended on June 7.
The Coast Guard said the teen was on a boogie board when a wave knocked him down and he was swept away at around 2 p.m.
His stepmother and father were at the beach when they lost sight of him. The father, 50-year-old Robert Allen, from Fort Collins, Colorado, went into the water to find his son. But he never returned.
The boy’s stepmother called 911 shortly before 2:30 p.m. Within minutes, search and rescue crews were in the water, on the ground and overhead.
Sky 8 video: Coast Guard searches for teen swept out to sea
At around 3 p.m., the father's body was spotted from a Coast Guard helicopter. His body was lifted out of the water and crews performed CPR. But it was too late.
"I was getting very choked up watching this, just witnessing it so close to the beach," said Vickie Gross, who watched the search effort from her home. "This was just disturbing...very disturbing."
Erik Patterson witnessed the rescue attempt.
"It was just really, really, really sad to hear that it was a father and a son," he said.
Rockaway Beach is in Tillamook County along the Oregon Coast.