Search on for boy missing off Ocean City

The U.S. Coast Guard and local agencies were searching for a 14-year-old boy who went missing in the waves off Ocean City, N.J., on Sunday after he and some friends were swept out by a rip current.

The Ocean City Police Department reported the boy missing to the Coast Guard shortly before 7 p.m. near West 9th Street in the area of Music Pier in Ocean City. He was still missing as of 9 p.m. His friends, a group of about six, all made it safely back to shore, the Coast Guard said.

Several signs on the beach say lifeguards leave at 5:30 p.m. It was unclear whether any were present when the boy disappeared.

Helping in the search for the boy were a 25-foot Coast Guard boat, a helicopter from the Coast Guard's air station in Atlantic City, a New Jersey State Police marine unit, an Ocean City Police Department boat, the Ocean City Fire Department, and "several good Samaritans," according to the Coast Guard. An 87-foot patrol boat also was set to join the search, which authorities said would continue through the night.

- Michaelle Bond