Tragedy south of the border
After a night of searching a beach in Mexico for their son’s body, Jerry Colunga gets help removing wet socks from his wife, Raquel Gomez. The couple lost their only son, Paul Gomez, 11, when he drowned here in late August. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Ulysses Colunga scans the beach at low tide as his brother, Jerry, drives along the sand. Since the Aug. 22 incident, the brothers and other family members have been searching night and day for the boy’s body. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Desperate for any clues of his nephew’s disappearance, Ulysses Colunga checks a pile of kelp on the beach. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Jerry Colunga, left, with his nephew Omar Rodriquez, shines a high-powered light into the crashing surf in hopes of finding some sign of his son, an honor student who had just begun sixth grade in Tijuana. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
About 50 lifeguards from Mexico and San Diego County gather Monday on a beach about 35 miles south of Tijuana to help in the search. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
A San Diego County lifeguard searches the rugged coastline for the body of the boy. A cross memorializes where someone else drowned at this notoriously dangerous swimming area. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
After an unsuccessful search, Jerry Colunga hugs his wife as his brother looks on. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
