Canadian Teen Swimmer’s Body Found In Gulf: Pinellas County Sheriff

INDIAN SHORES, FL — The body of a missing swimmer, a 17-year-old Canadian boy, was found Wednesday afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico off Indian Shores, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The agency’s Underwater Search and Recovery Team located William Zhang’s body just before 5:30 p.m. and pronounced dead.

Zhang was visiting Florida from Quebec with his swim team for a swim camp.

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He and several other team members were swimming in the Gulf, conducting swimming drills, around 9 a.m. when he went missing, the sheriff’s office said. At the end of the drills, Zhang didn’t return to shore.

Swim coaches told detectives that they searched for riptides and other hazards before the swimmers entered the water.

Search efforts were conducted throughout the day by the sheriff’s office, Indian Shores Police Department, Pinellas Suncoast Fire Rescue, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the United States Coast Guard.

The incident doesn’t appear to be suspicious, the sheriff’s office said.