According to Surfside Beach Police Chief Phillip Hester, a man was fishing when he felt something touch his leg. It turned out to be Joshua’s body.
SURFSIDE BEACH, Texas — More than 30 hours after being swept away in the Surfside Beach waters, crews recovered a body believed to be that of a missing 11-year-old boy.
Joshua Lahai from Richmond was visiting Surfside Beach with a youth football team from Fort Bend County, according to Surfside Beach Police Chief Phillip Hester.
Editor’s note: The video in this article is from a report before Joshua’s body was found.
According to Hester, a man was fishing about 150 feet off the beach when he felt something touch his leg. It ended up being Joshua’s body.
Crews recovered the body and brought him back to shore. His body was found about half a mile west of where he was last seen.
Joshua had been missing for close to two full days. Officials said officers initially received the call about a distressed swimmer near the Ocean Avenue beach access point around 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Hester said rough surf and strong currents were making the recovery efforts difficult.
“From what the young man who was out there with him came to me and told me, they were out probably about the second or third sandbar and got lifted off the sandbar. When they came back down, they weren’t touching, panicked a little bit, and then the wave started crashing. Joshua went underneath,” Hester said.
About 24 hours after the initial call, crews found the missing boy’s shorts that he was wearing when he went under.
Hester said crews were on the beach within two minutes of receiving the call, and drones were in the air. He said teams also used a helicopter and ATVs as they searched for Joshua.
Hester called in Tim Miller and Texas EquuSearch to assist. Miller said large amounts of seaweed in the water also complicated the search.
Hester said this is the second year in a row the department has had a drowning during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Got a news tip or story idea? Email us at newstips@khou.com or call 713-521-4310 and include your name and the best way to reach you.