A disembodied head that washed ashore on a popular South Florida beach last week belongs to a teenage boy who disappeared in a rip current after saving his younger sister from drowning.
Victor Enrique Castaneda Jr., 19, and his sister were overtaken by a rip current while going for a swim off South Pointe Beach in Miami Beach on Nov. 9, NBC Miami reported.
Miami Beach police searched for two days before suspending their search efforts. A beach worker in Key Biscayne later discovered the teen’s head after it washed ashore on Tuesday.
Police and a medical examiner later confirmed that the remains belong to the heroic teen, whom his older sister remembered as the “kindest person” she knew.
“He was an amazing student. He had so many dreams. He was gonna enlist in the Navy,” Jessica Castaneda told NBC after he was first reported missing.
On the tragic day he went missing, Victor and his little sister had gotten into the water around 6 p.m. and almost immediately got caught in a rip current, Jessica recalled to the outlet.
The pair cried out for help and two beach-goers were able to pull the younger sibling out of the water.
“They were struggling for a long time,” Jessica said. “He said his concerns to my sister while they were struggling, just trying to get out. Before he was submerged, he threw my sister, because he told her they were gonna die, and he threw her, and that was the last she saw of him. So my brother died a hero.”
The younger sibling, who has not been named, was taken to the hospital for evaluation but was in good health, NBC previously reported.
Police are investigating the teen’s death, however, no foul play is suspected, police told the Miami Herald.
