BOYNTON BEACH, Florida — 15-year-old teenager Drowned on Gulfstream Park beach The person who died Sunday was identified as Prestyn Smith of Lake Worth.

WPTV is first hearing from first responders trying to find Smith in the water.

It was a multi-agency effort in which helicopters, jet skis and divers searched the water for the missing teenager.

“One of the things that I personally find solace in when we go on one of these high-stress calls is knowing that we did absolutely everything we could, which is what makes things a little bit easier,” said Boynton Beach Fire Rescue. Captain Steven Permenter is on the phone.

He said he could not see Smith when he arrived at the scene, but went into the water to save the mother, who was struggling with the current while trying to find her son.

“She wanted to help her child, and she had to explain to him that we needed to get him in as quickly as possible so we could make sure we could keep him safe, and that we needed to make every effort to get the child,” Permenter said.

He said he was an experienced swimmer and it took about four other people to fight the waves and currents and help bring him back.

“Did you worry about your own safety at any point?” asked WPTV’s Joel Lopez.

“Of course it was difficult,” Permenter said. “I wanted to make sure he got in as quickly as possible.”

Permenter said he took in too much water during the rescue, causing shortness of breath and vomiting, and he had to go to the hospital.

He is currently recovering from the incident.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said the calls came in just after 7:27 a.m. Sunday.

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“It’s very sad,” said Tracy Shelley, a lifeguard with the Palm Beach County Ocean rescue team.

He said the day was labeled a red flag day at the end, but lifeguards checked in at 7.30am to practice and do their morning training, and the family was on the water before being set up.

“We didn’t raise the flag because we weren’t open in the morning,” Shelley said.

He said he and two lifeguards at Gulfstream Park Beach immediately responded and rushed to help.

“I swam in with my running clothes on,” Shelley said. “You couldn’t see; visibility was 4 feet or less.”

He urges beachgoers not to swim in the water until the lifeguard arrives.

“Even this morning I swam in the current to understand how the water moves, and even when the current was much smaller it was almost impossible for me as a professional to swim against that current,” Shelley said. “So the average person who hasn’t been trained or maybe doesn’t have a high level of swimming skills, it’s kind of impossible for them.”

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A yellow flag was flying at Gulfstream Park Beach on Monday and the beach was packed with people.

“We’re a little bit in shock,” said Angeleka Schmidt, who was vacationing on a Gulfstream from Germany.

He said he was on the beach when the search began and was praying for the family who lost their loved ones.

“Yesterday everyone was looking at the sea looking for the child,” Schmidt said. “We saw the body come out, it was very sad.”