California search for missing Las Vegas teen ends

The search for the body of a Las Vegas teen who vanished on a Southern California beach was called off Thursday.

While it was a sad day for the family, the teen’s father, Foster Parnell, said they were grateful for everyone helping with the recovery effort.

“They did everything they could today,” he said.

The weather had been preventing underwater searches, but crews were able to dive on Thursday. Parnell said crews searched with scuba equipment, snorkels and cameras that they used to check crevices in the rocks.

The search had been limited to boats, helicopters and lifeguards on foot in the rocky area where he disappeared, near Thousand Steps Beach in South Laguna, Calif., due to extremely hazardous surf conditions.

Centennial High School senior Anthony Parnell, 18, disappeared while walking with some friends when they were struck by a large wave Sunday afternoon. When the wave receded, Parnell was nowhere to be found.

The area where Anthony Parnell vanished is dangerous, because a rogue wave could knock someone into any one of the many holes, cracks and crevices, Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Capt. Steve Concialdi told the Review-Journal on Tuesday.

Orange County lifeguards and the sheriff’s department harbor patrol will continue to keep watch in case something washes up on the shore, Concialdi said Thursday.

Parnell said the family will return to the valley in the next few days.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl.