Rip Current — Southern Queens, New York

2024-06-21 · Southern Queens, New York

Event narrative

Shortly after 6 p.m. after lifeguards had left for the day, Christian Perkins, who had just turned 17 the week before, and 16-year-old Elyjha Chandler, went into the ocean near Bay 2 in Riis Park, to cool off during the heatwave. The boys did not know how to swim. Witnesses say the teens tried to jump up when a large wave came, but the wave consumed them, and they never resurfaced. By 6:35 p.m., 911 calls were made to report the missing boys. The call resulted in a massive rescue response that included FDNY Marine Units and divers, NYPD Harbor Units, NYPD Harbor Base Divers, and Coast Guard and water teams from Sandy Hook, Cape Cod and Atlantic City. They searched for the boys until darkness fell on Friday, with no sight of them. They resumed the search the next day, until the search was suspended on Saturday night. Coast Guard crews had searched a total of more than 600 square miles. The search area extended from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to Long Beach, New York, and offshore approximately 20 nautical miles.

Their bodies were found over a week later. Police said one of the bodies was found Saturday night June 29 around 9 p.m. near Beach 114th Street and Ocean Promenade in Queens. The other body was found Sunday June 30th around 10:45 a.m. near Beach 149th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard' almost two miles west.

Wider weather episode

Persistent south to southwest winds brought 3 ft breaking surf and a moderate risk of rip currents to the local beaches on Friday. In addition, hot and humid conditions had large crowds flocking to area beaches. Two rip current fatalities occurred in these conditions after hours on 6/21 at Jacob Riis Park.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1205173. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.