Overview
- A body was recovered about 10:45am Monday by police divers and has yet to be formally identified, though it is believed to be the missing 18-year-old.
- The teen vanished Sunday evening after a sandbar collapsed off Soldiers Beach at Norah Head, where two others made it back to shore and surfers rescued a third.
- NSW Police praised the nearby surfers for their swift actions, saying their intervention likely prevented a second death.
- The coordinated search involved the Westpac rescue helicopter, the Marine Area Command, and Marine Rescue NSW, paused at 11:30pm and restarted around 7am with foot patrols overnight.
- Officials said the group were locals and were caught in a rip current, with lifeguards off duty at the time and southerly swells up to three metres and 15-knot winds hampering efforts.