Rescuers Still Seek Swimmer

Rescue workers spent a second day Sunday searching for a man believed to be Orange County’s first ocean-drowning victim of the year.

Danny Robert Castro, 21, of Los Angeles was enjoying a family outing Saturday when he disappeared in the surf off Sunset Beach shortly before 1 p.m. Authorities said Castro was swimming alone and may have been pulled out to sea by a rip current.

Lifeguards said they rescued at least four other people who were caught in rip currents along the same stretch of beach Saturday.

Elsewhere, a 3-year-old Anaheim boy was saved by his aunt, who found him face-down in her pool Sunday evening.

The boy was breathing after his rescue but was taken to Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center, said Fire Department spokeswoman Maria Sabol.

Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, said a helicopter and a patrol boat searched the ocean between 5th and 22nd streets for Castro. The search will continue through today, but a northerly tide could push the man’s body as far as Santa Monica, he said.

Castro’s family, including his 4-year-old daughter, gathered at Sunset Beach on Sunday morning as the search went on. While other families nearby celebrated Mother’s Day, Castro’s relatives solemnly placed a single red rose in the sand and scanned the horizon.

A brother-in-law, who declined to identify himself, said Castro was hard-working and a devoted father.

Amormino said there are typically half a dozen ocean drownings every year in Orange County. He advised beach goers to always swim with a friend, check ocean conditions before going in and to not be fooled by tranquil appearances.

“The sea is dangerous at any time,” Amormino said.

The stretch of shore near 5th Street in Sunset Beach is known for strong rip currents, lifeguard Les C. Griffin said.

Rip currents occur when waves break on shore and are funneled by beach topography out to sea. The current picks up sand and makes the water noticeably brown and choppy.

Griffin advised beachgoers to ask lifeguards about ocean conditions, and to stay near the guard towers.

Times staff writer Jennifer Mena contributed to this report.