A coordinated search was continuing today for two teenage boys swept away by rip currents on Sunday at the Michigan City beach, the Indiana Department of Law Enforcement said.

DNR did not release the names of the boys but the Associated Press has identified them as Scott Hoover, 14, and Lorenzo Greer, 17, both of South Bend.

The search began at 4:15 p.m., DNR said, when the boys were swimming in rough-wave conditions near the pier in Michigan City. Although the lifeguarded beach itself was closed because of the rip currents, the boys were swimming a short distance outside the guarded area, DNR said. “As the boys were being swept out, one of the fathers tried to rescue the youths but was unable to pull them to safety.”

U.S. Coast Guard personnel, using boats and helicopters, continued the search through the night, DNR said, while divers from DNR Law Enforcement, Michigan City Police, and the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Police were waiting for conditions to improve this morning before entering the water.

“The forecast is promising,” DNR Conservation Officer Gene Davis said. “We hope to get divers in the water by noon, if not before. Right now our boats are using side-scan sonar and trying to get a mark on where they might be. If we don’t get a sonar location, we will tow divers behind a boat and cover the area.”

A rip current advisory issued for Sunday by the National Weather Service (NWS) for Northwest Indiana remained in effect today, with northeast winds of 10 to 15 knots expected to generate waves of three to five feet until late morning, at which point waves were forecast to subside to one to three feet in the afternoon.

“Rip currents are powerful channels of water flowing quickly away from the shore which occur most often at low points or breaks in the sandbar and in the vicinity of structures such as groins, jetties, and piers,” NWS said. “Heed the advice of lifeguards and the beach patrol. Pay attention to flags and posted signs.”

“If you become caught in a rip current, do not panic,” NWS added. “Remain calm and begin to swim parallel to shore. Once you are away from the force of the rip current, begin to swim back to the beach. Do not attempt to swim directly against a rip current. Even a strong swimmer can become exhausted quickly.”

Posted 8/23/2010