Search continues for teen last seen swimming in Miami Beach
.jpg "Miami Beach police said it was still investigating the disappearance of a 19-year-old man who was last seen in the ocean Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. His family said he was caught in a rip current.")
Miami Beach police continued to search for a 19-year-old man who disappeared in an ocean rip current Saturday night.
Victor Castaneda was last seen around 6 p.m. going into the ocean at South Point Beach with his younger sister when the current began to take them. After yelling for help, bystanders were able to rescue his sister, but they could not find him, his older sibling, Jessica Castaneda, told NBC 6.
She told the station that as the pair struggled, Victor threw his sister toward shore so she could be saved.
“So my brother died a hero,” Jessica Castaneda said.
Officer Christopher Bess, spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department, told the Herald Tuesday that Victor Castaneda “still remains a missing person and the investigation continues.”
Miami Beach Fire Rescue, which was the lead agency in the case, turned it over to the police, said department spokeswoman Lissi Hernandez.
A post on Jessica Castaneda’s Facebook page Tuesday indicates the family has accepted that their loved one may have drowned and they are grieving their loss.
“The pain I’m left with is insurmountable. My heart is completely and irreparably shattered. Your absence will never be accepted. No words could ever describe how much I love you Victor. To the top of the highest mountain and to the depths deeper than the titanic, I love you little brother,” she wrote.
“I love you so much. I will miss you every second of every minute of every single day for the rest of my life. I will dream of your smile and your infectious laugh until I find you in the next life, in every life I will find you.”
Over the weekend, several agencies participated in the search, including Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the U.S. Coast Guard.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
