CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A day at the beach ended tragically for one 75-year-old man and his family on Friday.
The man was reported missing in the waters off Mustang Island around noon Friday after wading into waist-deep water with a friend. His body was eventually found nearby.
First responders said recovering a body from the ocean can be a very difficult mission, and Friday's rough conditions made their search even harder. Still, the high winds were no match for the U.S. Coast Guard.
High tides and choppy water prevented the Corpus Christi Fire Department from launching their search boat, so the U.S. Coast Guard took to the air to search and found the man nearly two hours later.
"It's usually a couple days when they're missing and they're taken out to sea," CCFD Battalion Chief Robin McGill said. "It does take a little bit. We were pretty lucky that we were able to locate him, to be honest with you, and it only took two hours."
McGill said it usually takes days before a body is found, and sometimes they are found far away from where they went missing.
If you are heading to the beach this Memorial Day weekend, officials say to use caution.