A 13-year old boy on vacation in Costa Rica was knocked down by a powerful wave and dragged out to sea by rip currents over the weekend. Officers from the National Coast Guard Service found his body floating off Playa Palmeras, located in the Caribbean community of Estero Negro.

According to a recent news report filed by Allan Chacon Soto of daily tabloid Diario Extra, the boy was identified by as Steven Perez Gomez; he was from the Oreamnuno canton of the Cartago province.

The boy arrived with his family to Estero Negro, located in the province of Limon, on Friday at noon. He was excited to see the ocean for the first time in his young life, and he rushed to the surf as soon as the tour minibus stopped in front of Playa Las Palmeras, near the spot where the grand Colon Caribe Hotel once stood majestically facing the Caribbean Sea.

The boy’s parents watched him from the sand and warned him not to advance any further once the water reached his knees. The boy did as his parents told him to and continued to enjoy the sunny day in the surf. Suddenly, a potent wave crested unexpectedly and knocked him down.

The surf conditions created a strong seaward undercurrent after a set broke ashore. The boy, who never learned to swim, was caught in the undertow and deposited into a rip current; his parents tried to reach him to no avail while relatives called the Red Cross.

A small boat from the National Coast Guard Service of Costa Rica got underway to search for the boy, but the search was suspended once nightfall had set in. The next day, he was found after two hours. His body was taken to a peer near downtown Limon, where his grief-stricken parents awaited.