The long search is over for a Las Vegas teenager who was swept to sea from a beach in Orange County, as authorities were able to positively identify Thursday a body that washed up on shore.
Anthony Parnell, 18, was swept off the rocks at a popular Laguna Beach swimming area on Feb. 8, according to friends he was with at the time.
Rescue crews trawled the waters near the beach looking for Parnell. After a day, the search turned into a recovery mission, but were unable to find his body.
It washed on shore Wednesday, Feb. 18, about a half-mile south of Thousand Steps Beach, where he disappeared. The body was identified Thursday.
Parnell's family remembered him as a "good kid who was respectful and would always help even if he didn't want to." They said Parnell played high school football in Las Vegas and had recently signed up to join the Army.
NBC4's Christina Cocca contributed to this report.
