Tragedy in my Backyard

This happened 100 yards off shore of where I live. I heard the helicopters all day and saw the Coast Guard ships from my living room window. My neighbor works with the parents of the boy. Very sad. So sad. His body is still out there, floating around in the cold, murky water. A life vest might have prevented it, too. Imagine, your 18 year old son says goodbye, jumps on a jet ski and 30 minutes later he's dead. Fucking horrifying. Life is so short, my friends. Spend it wisely. And wear your life vests.

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OCEANSIDE ---- A search continued until late Thursday for a missing teenager who slipped away from his brother after they collided on their SeaDoos a day earlier.

"He kept mumbling, 'I had ahold of my brother and I let him go,'" said Oceanside lifeguard Capt. Bill Curtis.

The search for 19-year-old Sean Carter, a 2006 graduate of Vista High School, continued Thursday. Authorities scanned the ocean without success from Wisconsin Street, where the two damaged watercraft washed ashore Wednesday, to the spot near the Oceanside Municipal Pier where a surfer pulled Sean's brother, Doug Carter, 21, from the water.

For a second day, darkness forced the searchers to leave the water.

Doug Carter was treated and released from Tri-City Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon, said Espy Enriquez. A longtime friend of the family, Enriquez listened Wednesday night as the older brother told the story to friends.

Efforts by reporters to reach the family were unsuccessful. Enriquez, whose children grew up with the brothers, said Doug told him the brothers were riding on a pair of watercraft near the Oceanside pier when they crashed head-on.

She described Sean as outgoing and Doug as more of a quiet introvert.

Carter told his friends the impact of the collision knocked both of them from their SeaDoos, Enriquez said. Doug Carter swam to his unconscious brother and tried to hold him above the surface, Enriquez said.

"(Doug) was holding on to (Sean's) hand but neither had a life vest on and the weight was pulling them both down," Enriquez said. "He told his friends he let go of (Sean's) hand and saw him go down."

There were no witnesses to the crash, Curtis said. A private helicopter pilot flying in the area spotted the brothers in the water at about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday and radioed for help. Before lifeguards could arrive, surfer David Keck was able to pull Doug Carter onto his surfboard. The Oceanside resident said he paddled toward the helicopter and saw what looked like an arm and a head sticking out of the water. Drawing closer, he saw a young man who looked "pale and exhausted."

The outing was the first time that the brothers had gone out on separate watercraft, Enriquez said.

"They were really excited about going out," she said. "Their dad had just bought a second SeaDoo."

Enriquez has worked with the brothers' mother, Suzann Carter, at Oceans 11 casino for 11 years. Their father also works at the casino.

Curtis said neither brother was wearing a flotation device. Curtis said the boys' father said he tried to get them to return to the dock to put on vests.

State law requires anyone on a personal watercraft to wear a floatation device.

Curtis said Doug Carter told rescuers that both brothers were wearing wet suits. The lifeguard captain added that it should have provided some buoyancy.

On Wednesday, a U.S. Navy hovercraft joined U.S. Coast Guard and San Diego Sheriff's Department helicopters and lifeguards from Oceanside, Carlsbad and Encinitas in a six-hour search that was finally suspended at dusk.

Six lifeguards searched by boat and the department's watercraft for the missing teen as Oceanside Police scanned the surf from shore.

An orange buoy marked the spot Thursday where searchers found a "kill switch" from a personal watercraft floating on the surface about 200 yards offshore.

The size of the search area and strong wind and water currents deterred plans to send divers into the water, Curtis said.

A fund to assist the family has been started. Donations may be sent to Oceans 11 Casino, c/o Bob Moyer, 121 Brooks St., Oceanside 92054.