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Dramatic photos show beachgoers linking arms in desperate search for missing boy

Posted at 7:23 PM, Jun 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-16 19:23:00-04

Beach-goers linked arms during the desperate search for a missing 14-year-old boy in Myrtle Beach. (WGHP)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Heartbreaking photos show dozens of people combing the water off a South Carolina beach in an effort to find a missing boy Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard and other emergency responders are searching the ocean near 73rd Avenue North in Myrtle Beach.

WMBF reports the missing swimmer is a 14-year-old male, who was last seen wearing blue swim trunks. Crews first responded to two swimmers in distress in the ocean.

“I heard curdling, curdling screams, and the one lifeguard came up, and he said, ‘I got the one little boy; I could not get the other little boy.’ He’s devastated,” a witness told the station.

Distraught bystanders comfort each other as the search continues. (WGHP)

Photos taken by WGHP show a large crowd of people linking arms as they walk slowly through the shallows, hoping to find some sign of the missing boy.

Family members on the shore can be seen holding and consoling each other while others ask police for updates.

Responders on jet skis are combing the area along with Myrtle Beach Fire and Rescue units, Myrtle Beach beach patrol and others.