HUNTINGTON BEACH PIER (Flickr).

The search or a missing 15-year-old youth who had been swimming in the ocean off the Huntington Beach shore has been suspended, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

“The decision to suspend an active search is never easy and is only made after exhaustive efforts to find the missing person,” said Capt. Stacey Crecy, commanding officer for the Coast Guard Section Los Angeles-Long Beach. “Our hearts ache for his family and friends.”

The youth – who has not been publicly identified – had gone swimming with friends Sunday evening in the water near Lifeguard Tower II, south of Huntington Beach Pier.

His absence was reported around 9 p.m. Agencies including Huntington Beach Lifeguards, Orange County Fire Authority, Orange County Sheriff’s Department and Huntington Beach’s police and fire departments, along with the Coast Guard, took part in the search from the Bolsa Chica Wetlands to Newport Beach.

The waves were estimated at about three to five feet high with strong rip currents all day Sunday.