Search underway for missing teenage swimmer at Westerly beach

WESTERLY, R.I. (WLNE) — A search was launched Thursday night for a missing swimmer off Dunes Park Beach in Westerly.

Westerly Police Chief Paul Gingerella said that rescuers were looking for a 15-year-old boy who was swimming with family and was washed away at the jetty.

Rescue crews told an ABC 6 News crew on scene that almost 60 police officers, U.S. Coast Guard members, life guards, and other first responders were searching the water for the teenager.

Surf conditions and high winds made it a difficult search and most crews could not work as it got darker.

“We all have that drive, we want to find the person, we want to find the person alive, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that way at this point,” Gingerella told ABC 6.

Members of the Coast Guard will remain searching through the night while the other crews will return in the morning.