Body pulled from water at UK beach after search for missing 13-year-old boy

A body has been found in the search for a 13-year-old boy who got into difficulty in the sea off the East Yorkshire coast near Hornsea, police have said, though formal identification has not yet taken place

Abigail Hunt Content Editor

11:53, 05 Aug 2026Updated 12:10, 05 Aug 2026

[The scene at South Promenade in Hornsea on Tuesday]

The scene at South Promenade in Hornsea on Tuesday(Image: Kevin Allitt/PA Wire)

A body has been found in the search for a 13-year-old boy who got into trouble in the sea off the East Yorkshire coast, according to police.

Humberside Police were alerted to concerns for the boy's welfare near the South Promenade area of Hornsea at approximately 6pm on Tuesday. A search and rescue mission was initiated, and a body was retrieved from the water around 4.30am on Wednesday morning.

Formal identification is yet to be carried out, but the force believes it to be the teenager. According to Press Association estimates, at least 40 deaths have been reported this summer from open-water incidents.

[A body has now been found in the search]

A body has now been found in the search(Image: Kevin Allitt/PA Wire)

Chief Superintendent Phil Booker said: "This is an incredibly heartbreaking outcome, and our thoughts are with the boy's family and friends at this devastating time."

The search involved the police's Marine Unit and drone pilots, HM Coastguard, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.

Footage and photographs taken at the scene show a lifeboat on the sea, and an HM Coastguard helicopter circling above. Mr Booker added: "His death is not being treated as suspicious, and a file will now be prepared for the Coroner.

[Formal identification is yet to be carried out, but the force believes it to be the teenager]

Formal identification is yet to be carried out, but the force believes it to be the teenager(Image: Kevin Allitt/PA Wire)

"We know the sadness and concern this will cause in the community, and we would ask that the family's privacy is respected during this incredibly difficult time. I would like to thank all of the emergency services involved in the search, along with members of the public for their support and cooperation."

The lad's family has been notified and is receiving support from specialist officers. This follows the tragic drowning of a 14-year-old boy after entering the water in east London on Monday.

The Metropolitan Police reported that officers were summoned around 6.48pm to reports of a boy having gone into the Millwall Outer Dock near East Ferry Road on the Isle of Dogs.

The incident in East Yorkshire took place less than 20 miles from where 15 year old Grace Keeling was swept out to sea earlier this year.

Grace perished in the sea at Withernsea, along with her mum, Sarah Keeling, 45, and local bloke Mark Ratcliffe, 67, who attempted to assist her on the afternoon of January 2 but immediately found themselves in trouble, an inquest heard in May.

The search for Grace's body spanned 13 days and it was ultimately discovered trapped among massive boulders used for sea defences to the south of where the incident occurred.

The National Water Safety Forum revealed there were 202 water-related fatalities across the UK last year, adding that data for 2026 won't be released until May of next year.

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