SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Dennis Allen Cyncor-McMillan
Lost/Injured Missing
Missing From: Santa Cruz County, California
Missing Since: March 9, 2009
Age: 17 -- Height: 5'11" -- Weight: 150 lbs -- Hair Color: Blonde -- Eye Color: Blue
Los Gatos teen missing, presumed drowned after early-morning swim
A Los Gatos High School senior is missing and presumed dead after he went swimming in the chilly waters south of Davenport early Monday and could not make it back to the beach.
Dennis Cyncor-McMillan, 17, and an 18-year-old Los Gatos man decided to swim from the north side of Shark's Tooth Beach to a rock spire in the center of the cove. They swam the 70 to 80 feet through choppy water to the rock, but Cyncor-McMillan couldn't make it back.
"Apparently the water was cold and he was overwhelmed," said Dennis' mother, Julia Cyncor of Los Gatos. "His friend tried pulling him in but it was early in the morning and they were exhausted."
[snip]
Within 30 minutes of the 911 call, two State Parks lifeguards and a rescue swimmer from Aptos/La Selva Fire were at the beach searching for Cyncor-McMillan. The Coast Guard responded with a 47-foot vessel from Monterey and a helicopter from San Francisco. At dawn, a State Parks lifeguard on a personal watercraft started searching the surf. The search grid extended from Davenport south to Santa Cruz and eight miles out to sea, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Kevin Neff.
Determining where the teen could have drifted was complicated by the pre-dawn darkness and the unpredictable North Coast currents, State Parks lifeguard Dan Perry said. The current generally moves to the south along the coast, but caves and inlets alter the flow. Winds, 12-foot swells and low visibility also affected the search effort.
While State Parks lifeguards with binoculars scanned the water from the cliff above the pocket beach, tourists walked along the bluffs taking photos of the white-capped ocean. Below, waves churned around the spire, a steep rock capped with bright green vegetation.
The search was suspended at 12:30 p.m. and the case was turned over to the county Sheriff's Office.
More: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_11875854