Day 4: Recovery mission continues for missing teen swimmer in Sanibel

Reporter: Asha Patel Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:
shelling do's and dont's
Shells along the shoreline of Blind Pass Beach on Sanibel Island.

The Sanibel Police Department is continuing its recovery mission for a teen swimmer who went missing at Blind Pass Beach on Tuesday.

Efforts shifted from search and rescue to a recovery mission at around 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Switching to recovery mode means crews do not expect to find the missing swimmer alive.

According to police, the male swimmer was swept out to the ocean by natural currents while with friends on Tuesday.

He was swimming with three other boys 100 yards from the shore of Blind Pass Beach just before noon when the current took them out further.

One of them was able to swim to shore and call for help, and the Sanibel Fire Department rescued two others.

Multiple agencies joined Sanibel police in the search in previous days, including the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Coast Guard.

Now only Sanibel police are searching.

The teen is a Sanibel local.

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