() – A disembodied head that washed up on the South Florida shore was identified as that of a swimmer 19-year-old who disappeared in Miami Beach after trying to rescue her younger sister from a rip current, authorities said.
Víctor Enrique Castañeda Jr. was reported missing near a pier on November 9. His disappearance sparked a fruitless search by local officials and the U.S. Coast Guard, media outlets reported.
Meanwhile, on November 12, a beach worker found a man’s head on Key Biscayne, the barrier island off Miami. On Friday, the Miami-Dade County medical examiner confirmed that the human remains were those of Castaneda. The cause and manner of death were not revealed.
Castaneda and his sister were swimming at South Point Beach in Miami Beach when a rip current caught them. A passerby went into the water and rescued the girl, but when that person returned to help Castaneda, he was nowhere to be found, family members said.
On Saturday, family and friends gathered on the beach to celebrate the young man’s life. Two Miami-Dade County fireboats fired water cannons in an honorary show, the Miami Herald reported. Castaneda’s sisters, who wore “Forever 19” T-shirts, told the media they were grateful for the outpouring of support for their family.
“He would have loved to see how many people came and joined in and loved him with all their hearts,” Castaneda’s sister, Chloe, told WBFS-TV.
“My brother was an incredible, incredible person, and knowing him meant loving him,” added his other sister, Jessica. “It couldn’t have been more perfect. “The kindest person I have ever met.”
Castaneda was from a family of eight children.
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