Body found off Florida beach identified as missing 19-year-old swimmer

A body pulled from waters off Jacksonville Beach, Florida, by a paddleboarder this week was identified by police as a swimmer missing since last Sunday, officials said Friday.

The medical examiner identified the body as Curtis Newkirk Jr., 19, Jacksonville police said in a release sent to Fox News Digital. 

Newkirk had been found about 100 yards from the coastline Wednesday morning after 10 a.m. following an exhaustive search by law enforcement. 

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He had reportedly been swimming with friends south of the Jacksonville Beach pier when he went missing. 

Some of his friends also had trouble in the water but everyone else had made it to shore, TMJ-TV reported. 

The U.S. Coast Guard and local law enforcement had been searching for Newkirk by sea and air since last weekend.