Low Tides Aid Search for Body of Missing Teen

With today’s lower tides, Orange County sheriff’s divers were able to step up their search for the body of an 18-year-old near Thousand Steps beach in Laguna Beach.

A calmer ocean allowed divers to get into areas they couldn’t since Sunday when Anthony Parnell was swept away, according to Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock.

“They’re diving around the rocks, out in the perimeter of the rocks,” Hallock said. “They’re also in the cove where he was last seen and fell.”

The divers today also were able to use a remote camera deposited into the ocean to help with the search, Hallock said.

The camera can help see if the body was trapped under the rocks and not washed out into the ocean, Hallock said.

“Conditions are a little bit better today,” he said. “The tide is still a little difficult, but it’s a much lower tide today.”

The searchers include Orange County lifeguards, and members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Harbor Patrol, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

Parnell was last seen in the water off Thousand Steps Beach with three friends about 1:35 p.m. Sunday, Concialdi said.

Concialdi described the water conditions Sunday as “treacherous” with five-to-eight foot waves interspersed with others that were larger.

Parnell’s parents -- Jennifer and Foster Parnell -- were summoned from Las Vegas. They said their son had just signed up for the U.S. Army and loved football music and art.

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