UPDATE 10.15AM
TWEED POLICE are currently meeting with Surf Life Savers in Byron Bay to decide whether to continue to search for a man who was believed to go missing in the water at Cabarita on Sunday afternoon.
Police said that patrols had been conducted along beaches and no items had been found to suggest that someone had not returned from the surf and that there had been no missing persons reported.
In a statement Police said, “On behalf of Senior Officers from the Tweed Byron LAC. We would like to express our thanks to the Life savers from Brunswick, Salt, Cudgen and Cabarita , for their assistance with the search for a suspected missing person off shore near Cabarita beach on the 22 January 2017.
“During the search which lasted over 2 hours, numerous resources including 5 IRB’s and 2 jet skis were deployed during the search With the additional assistance from the Lifesaver 4 helicopter a comprehensive search was conducted with no find.”
Police are urging anyone with information in relation this incident is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.
8.30AM
THE SEARCH for a man who went missing at Cabarita Beach on Sunday afternoon will resume this morning after an extensive sea and air search.
Surf Life Saving NSW the man was seen struggling in the surf and reported to Police.
“It is understood that the swimmer got into difficulty shortly after 4pm and a member of the public quickly raised the alarm with local police who subsequently requested on water support.”
Other witnesses reported the man was climbing rocks at the headland and slipped.
Surf Life Savers from neighbouring clubs including Brunswick, Salt, and Cabarita assisted with the search while the Westpac Life Saving Helicopter provided aerial support.
The search was called off on Sunday evening around 7.30pm due to poor light with no trace of the missing swimmer.
Tweed Police will meet with Surf Life Savers this morning to decide what resources to utilise in the ongoing search.
Surf Life Saving NSW said they will continue to make all assets available.