The search for a missing teenage boy swept into the ocean on Christmas Eve has now shifted to a recovery operation, as his family pay tribute to their ‘perfect son’.
Luca Bennett, 15, was playing with friends at North Avoca Rocks on NSW’s Central Coast on Christmas eve, when the group was washed into the water.
The Scots College student, a promising basketballer, failed to resurface while two of his friends managed to climb to safety and raise the alarm.
Emergency services said on Thursday morning they had scaled down their operation to a recovery effort.
‘Yesterday we lost our darling beloved Luca J,’ his parents Michelle and Jason told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Everyone is doing the best they can to search for him and bring him home to us. We are so grateful.
‘He was the most perfect son and we can’t believe it’s real.’
Luca played under-16s basketball for the Norths Bears in Sydney, and was also part of Basketball NSW’s High-Performance Program.
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Luca Bennett, 15, was playing with friends at North Avoca Rocks on NSW ‘s Central Coast on Christmas eve, when the group was washed into the water
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Emergency services rushed to the beach on Tuesday afternoon and two helicopters scoured the waters near a rock shelf on the northern end of the beach
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