Rucker’s Body Found Off Huntington Beach

Orange County authorities on Saturday found the body of Drean Rucker, a USC-bound football star who disappeared earlier this week while swimming off Huntington State Beach.

A harbor patrol boat from the Sheriff’s Department recovered the remains of the high school All-American about a quarter-mile west of the Huntington Beach Municipal Pier. An autopsy is pending.

Authorities said two people on personal watercraft spotted the body about 8:40 a.m. and notified city lifeguards, who then called the sheriff’s harbor patrol station in nearby Huntington Harbor.

Jim Amormino, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman, said the Orange County Coroner’s Office identified the body through fingerprints. There were no signs that Rucker was the victim of foul play, shark attack or a boating accident, he added.

“Drean was a wonderful young man with a great spirit. He would light up a room with his smile,” USC football Coach Pete Carroll said in a prepared statement issued a few hours after Rucker’s body was found. “He was a highly competitive and talented football player who was going to make an impact at USC on and off the field.”

Rucker, 18, was scheduled to report to USC on Aug. 5. At 6 feet 2 and 235 pounds, he was widely considered the No. 1 high school linebacker in Southern California last season.

He led Moreno Valley Canyon Springs High with 153 tackles, helping the Cougars to a 10-2-1 record and the semifinals of the Southern Section Division V playoffs.

Rucker disappeared about 8:10 p.m. on Monday while swimming between lifeguard towers 6 and 8 on Huntington State Beach east of the Huntington pier. He had been attending a cookout with friends.

Witnesses said Rucker apparently was not a strong swimmer and might have drowned, possibly after being pulled outside the breakers by a strong rip current. His body, clad in swim trunks, was found floating less than a mile from where he entered the water.

Family members maintained a vigil for several days last week near the stretch of sand where Rucker was last seen. Meanwhile, search crews shifted from rescue to recovery mode and waited for the ocean to return the young man’s body to shore.

Staff writers Paul McLeod and Rob Fernas contributed to this report.