Photo: GoFundMe
“I just wish that he comes back,” his mother, Canhtam Nguyen, told Fox 10.
His father, Clint Walker, recalled to the publication that Tyreke told him, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t come back," as he tried to save Tyreke from the waters.
Walker also suffered excessive water inhalation. “I grabbed him, and I had him, but the water was just pulling us and pulling us,” he said. “Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to make it. I lost his grip. I kept getting thrown to the bottom of the water, and somehow, I made it to shore, and he didn’t. I just wish I would’ve held on longer.”
Orange Beach Fire Rescue later moved the pursuit for Tyreke from the waters to the beach, per Fox 10.
“Right now, our efforts are wanting to bring closure to the family as much as possible, but it’s really a waiting game at this point trying to recover the child,” Bruce Nelson, battalion chief, told the publication.
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“If there’s any signs at all,” said Tyreke’s mother to Fox 10. “I know that there’s a chance he might not even be on Orange Beach anymore, just please. I just want to see him. I just want him home with the family. I don’t want that to be the last moment I saw him.”
Walker revealed that a mystery swimmer also jumped in and tried to save Tyreke.
“I don’t know the guy’s name, but in the heat of the moment when everything was happening, there was another dude that went out to go save him,” said Walker, according to the news outlet. “I just want to tell him personally thank you for trying to help save my son.”
AGoFundMeto raise money for Tyreke’s search, as well as help his parents cover expenses, has currently raised more than $10,000 of its $3,000 goal.
“Tragedy has hit our family and we are asking for help. Whether it be monetary donations, shares, and especially continued help, prayers, and support in finding Tyreke and bringing him home,” the campaign reads, clarifying that social media reports of him being found are not accurate.
“Please do not rely on sources that are not the police or authorities. He is still out there. ❤️,” it adds.
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The GoFundMe notes that the family, who resides in Baton Rouge, was spending the day in Orange Beach, AL for Tyreke’s 14th birthday for what “has turned into a terrible unwanted stay” as his family now waits for “hopeful news that he has been found.”
“Because of this, it can be quite costly and both parents will be out of work during this difficult time,” the campaign says.
On Saturday, the Orange Beach Fire Department said on its Facebook page that it was searching for a swimmer who had gotten lost in the area.
Giving an update on Sunday morning, the departmentaddedthat its crews were still looking for the missing swimmer “until midnight with no results.” They returned to the beach at 6:30 a.m. local time and planned to keep searching throughout the day. They latersharedthat on Sunday evening, crews had still not been able to find the missing swimmer.
The Orange Beach Fire Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The Orange Beach Surf Rescue announced onFacebookthat it would be flying double red flags into Monday, sharing a video of the beach.
source: people.com
