The grieving parents of a 16-year-old boy who went missing off the coast of Jacob Riis Park kept a vigil on the beach Saturday as scuba divers searched the waters for the boy for a second consecutive day.
Elijah Chandler and another teenager have been missing since Friday night when they were standing in knee-deep water and were suddenly engulfed by it, Chandler’s father told The Washington Post.
“He didn’t get far in the water… One of the boys told me when the water hit them it looked like the devil was coming at them,” a stunned Arshel Chandler said. Chandler said Elijah couldn’t swim and had come to the beach as a last-minute idea instead of going to basketball practice.
Elijah’s mother sat in a folding chair near the water’s edge, her legs shaking and crying, pleading loudly for her son’s safety.
“Why? Why? Why?” cried Aminatou Noa.
“I just want to be here,” she said.
“We just want them to come back. We want them to walk up to us.”
“My only son,” she repeated, looking up at the sky.
“Please God, please bring them back. … God is in control of everything. I will continue to pray.”
According to a police spokesman, Chandler and his friend Christian (17), went to swim around 6:35pm and never came out.
According to the state’s website, lifeguards are on duty at state parks during the summer from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The family claimed the lifeguard had left early.
The state did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Ershel Chandler said Elijah and Christian were among four teenagers who went into the water, but he was told a good Samaritan tried to rescue them.
“A man pulled him up. He was looking at Elijah. His eyes were wide open. Elijah went up and down three times and then he was gone.”
“I was hoping he’d come out of the water and say, ‘I’m here,'” his father said, throwing his hands in the air.
“It’s very hard. I cried. I couldn’t sleep last night.”
Elijah’s sister said her son had enough credits to graduate this summer and go on to college, but chose to stay with friends.
The proud father recalled his son’s love of basketball and school.
“His grades were among the best in his class,” he said.
“He always received many awards for his academic achievements.”
His father, too, continued to hope that his son was alive.
“I was at the water’s edge hoping to get a glimpse of my son,” the grieving father said.
