Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - On Saturday evening, after an exhaustive sea and shore search conducted by personnel from the 8th Naval Zone, and the Bahia de Banderas and Puerto Vallarta state and municipal Civil Protection and Fire Departments, the body of a young man who was lost at sea last Friday was recovered 3 nautical miles from where he was last seen.

The 22-year-old, Miguel Ángel Leyva López, had been swimming in the waters off of Nuevo Vallarta beach with his cousin and younger brother on Friday afternoon at around 2 pm, when suddenly a big wave pulled him in and the sea swallowed him.

Banderas Bay Civil Protection and Fire personnel rushed to the scene where they met with relatives, who noted the point where they had last seen him. To help coordinate and facilitate the comprehensive search operation, Vallarta's Bomberos and Lifeguards were called in, and the Eighth Naval District manned their search and rescue boats to scour the bay in search of the body.

At around 7 pm on Saturday evening, the Harbor Master received a distress call from the "Thunnus" tour boat, whose crew indicated they had found a body floating in the sea about one nautical mile off the mouth of the Ameca river.

At 8 pm, Search and Rescue personnel arrived at the scene, but found nothing. They continued searching and managed to find the body further ashore, where it had been carried by unusually strong currents.

The sailors quickly retrieved the corpse and transported it to the Navy pier, where it was turned over to an agent of the Ministerio Público, who, after the body had been positively identified by the boy's father, recorded the facts and ordered the body transferred to SEMEFO for an autopsy, which is required by law.