Teen Swimmer’s Body Found Off Newport Pier

The body of a teenager who was swept to sea off Huntington Beach two weeks ago was found floating near Newport Pier on Saturday afternoon, putting an end to his family’s persistent hope that he would be found alive.

Nelson Nguyen, 17, of Corona had been riding waves with two friends April 8 when the group was caught in a strong rip current. Lifeguards managed to save the two friends, but Nguyen disappeared under a large wave and was not seen again, a senior lifeguard said.

Despite the unlikely prospect that he would survive, Nguyen’s family members kept a vigil on the beach after his disappearance.

Friends and family searched up and down the coast almost daily, coordinating the effort from the Westminster home of the teen’s grandmother. They also looked for the teen in boats.

“Perhaps disbelief has overwhelmed me,” said his father, Tin Nguyen, a few days after his son disappeared. “But I don’t want to think that he’s dead.”

Nguyen’s worst fears were confirmed Saturday evening, when he and his wife, Ann, identified their son’s jewelry and bathing trunks at the Orange County coroner’s office in Santa Ana.

The couple could not be reached for comment.

A Newport Beach police spokesman said the body was spotted by someone on the pier and retrieved by lifeguards about 2:45 p.m. The body was not recognizable, but based on the clothing and amount of time it had been in the water, investigators at the coroner’s office suspected it was that of Nguyen.

Nguyen was born and raised in Orange County and moved to Riverside County four years ago.

Neighbors in Corona rallied around the Nguyen family as they searched for their son. Co-workers of Tin Nguyen raised money so that the father could miss work and continue looking for his son.

Lifeguards have warned that heavy El Nino rains scoured the sands near shore this winter, creating hazardous conditions for swimmers. They advised people who are not strong swimmers to stay close to a lifeguard tower and not venture beyond shoulder-height water.

Nguyen, who was about 5-foot-6 and weighed 110 pounds, was not a strong swimmer, his family said. He had gone to the beach with five friends during spring break. His father has said he had not been swimming for a year.

The other friends were using bodyboards, but Nguyen had no flotation device at the time he was swept away. At the time he disappeared, the surf was rough and the water temperature was 58 degrees.

The coroner’s office is scheduled to perform an autopsy today to establish a cause of death. But officials said it appears obvious that the cause of death was drowning.