NEWPORT BEACH : Autopsy Shows Boy Drowned in Surf

A 17-year-old Santa Ana boy who tried to save his 11-year-old cousin from strong currents near the Newport Pier Sunday afternoon drowned, according to an autopsy performed Monday by the Orange County’s coroner’s office.

Julio Serna, who was found tethered at the wrists to a bodyboard in the ocean off 23rd Street, where a lifeguard pulled him out, was the first drowning victim this summer along the city’s shoreline, said Craig Farmer, a marine safety officer for the city. The younger cousin, who was not identified, was not harmed.

Serna drowned when he went to help his cousin in the choppy surf.