Family of 12-year-old boy taken to sea in California offers $ 50,000 reward

The family of a 12-year-old boy who was taken at sea in northern California are offering a reward of $ 50,000 to anyone who locates him after a multi-agency search was suspended.

The boy, identified by his family as Arunay Pruthi, was dragged into the ocean at Cowell Ranch Beach in the town of Half Moon Bay, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, on Monday.

Arunay’s father and 8-year-old brother were also dragged down by a “wave of sneakers,” the boy’s uncle, Arvind Pruthi said. The Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit said the father and brother were eventually pushed back to shore after being “beaten by the waves”. Arunay was pulled underwater about 100 yards offshore.

The U.S. Coast Guard, Cal Fire, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies have used boats, drones and helicopters to search for Arunay. A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office said on Wednesday the search was suspended.

A deputy area commander with the Coast Guard unit in San Francisco said the decision was made “after considering environmental conditions and the passage of time.”

“This is a tragic loss for the family who were just trying to spend a day together at the beach. Our deepest condolences are with them at this time,” said Captain Howard Wright.

In a Facebook post on an Arunay Pruthi research page, the boy’s family said they were offering the $ 50,000 reward “for positively locating and identifying Arunay.”

“We decided to offer a reward to encourage people with specialized equipment to help him find it,” the family said in a message.

They asked the volunteers to put their safety first and not to search in bad weather. “We cannot afford to have even one more wounded soul.”