Candlelight vigil held for Huntington Beach teen who went missing in the ocean

Friends write messages at a candlelight vigil shrine in honor of 15-year-old Aayan Randhawa.

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

July 31, 2024 3:06 PM PT

Sana Randhawa talks glowingly about her youngest child, Aayan.

“He was a shining star of our family,” she said. “He was always happy, and he loved to come to the beach all the time. That was his favorite place. Every time I’d say I want to go for a walk on the beach, he’d say, ‘Mama, why are we going just for a walk? We should go in the water.’”

That’s where the search still goes on for Aayan, who has been missing since Sunday night.

Friends gather at a candlelight shrine held Tuesday night in honor of 15-year-old Aayan Randhawa.

The 15-year-old, an incoming sophomore at Huntington Beach High, was swimming with a friend near lifeguard Tower 11 but never made it back to shore, authorities said.

More than 100 people, including friends, family and community members, showed up for a candlelight vigil for Aayan on Tuesday night at the Huntington Beach Pier.

Minnie Salonen, who said her son, Ethan, was in Model United Nations and math class with Aayan, organized the vigil.

“It just shows the resiliency of these youth,” Salonen said. “They’re trying to internalize the process as best as they can. For them to just be in each other’s presence with Aayan’s family by the water, I think it was our first step of healing, you know? HB Strong, Oiler Strong.”

A woman prays next to a shrine for 15-year-old Aayan Randhawa.

The vigil featured a Hawaiian prayer ceremony and blowing of the Pu conch shell, led by Tina Toulouse, who often does paddle-outs for surfers. The group then went to the end of the pier before Aayan’s family dropped flowers into the ocean.

Many lingered at the end of the pier as the sun set, some fighting back tears.

Friends gathered to remember 15-year-old Aayan Randhawa at a candlelight vigil on Tuesday night.

“I think that his friends, being as young as they are, they needed to be able to come together and be able to hold each other up,” Toulouse said. “Grief and love are both an energy.”

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for Aayan on Monday night, but the local search effort has continued, Huntington Beach public affairs manager Jennifer Carey said Wednesday.

The Huntington Beach Fire Department Marine Safety Division’s dive team is working with Los Angeles Port Police to use their vessel, which is equipped with side scan sonar for further underwater search. The team is also using Huntington Beach rescue watercraft to conduct topside searches of the surf zone.

Patrol officers, lifeguards and HBPD helicopter HB-1 are providing an aerial search in the search zone, which is between Beach Boulevard and Goldenwest Street.

Two friends hug as they gather at the end of the pier to throw flowers and remember 15-year-old Aayan Randhawa.

Sana Randhawa said her family was looking forward to celebrating Aayan’s 16th birthday in a couple of weeks.

“We really appreciate the support,” she said. “We’re glad to see that everybody loved him. His friends are so sweet.”

She said her son messaged her at 8:26 p.m. Sunday indicating that he was out of the water sitting next to a bonfire. But less than an hour later, police called and said he was missing in the water.

“We ran back here,” Randhawa said. “It’s so tragic. I wish when he messaged me … that he wouldn’t go back in the water. Maybe the kids changed their mind and went back in the water, I don’t know.”

Officials said waves of 3 to 5 feet and strong rip currents were reported in the area on Sunday.

Friends and family gathered Tuesday at the end of the pier to honor 15-year-old Aayan Randhawa.

Salonen said couldn’t stop crying Sunday night when she heard the news, but she appreciated what she called “overwhelming support” at the vigil.

“The community, sometimes people can’t see eye to eye,” she said. “We’re very boisterous and opinionated with politics and stuff. But you know, when they say HB Strong, we just come together.”

Candlelight vigil held for Huntington Beach teen who went missing in the ocean

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