Ocean Ridge public safety officers assisted the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies in a search last month for a 15-year-old boy who was later found to have drowned north of the Boynton Inlet.
The body of Sebastian Francois was found on Jan. 14, in the pilings and rocks at the inlet, two days after he disappeared while swimming about 15 yards north of the inlet’s sand transfer station.
According to reports, Francois was wading in chest-high water shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, when he suddenly became submerged. He resurfaced and struggled to stay afloat before disappearing again. Relatives who were with him called 911 while they continued to search.
The sheriff’s office marine unit, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and divers from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue’s Special Response team, conducted a search but were unable to find the swimmer until he was discovered two days later.
Ocean Ridge Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi said his officers were minimally involved in the search, patrolling the beach south of the inlet on ATVs. “We were told to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary,” Yannuzzi said.
— Rich Pollack
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