“WE are just in disbelief that this has happened to him,” said Jerome Delos Santos, referring to his son, Bradley Jay “BJ” Delos Santos, 15, who was reported missing Saturday afternoon after a big wave swept him out in open water at Marine Beach in Kagman.
“BJ is a very quiet and very humble kid. I am just in disbelief that this is happening to my family; it is very hard, it’s very painful,” his father said. “We are just sitting here waiting for the result of the search, and as time goes by quickly, the more painful it is. We still have no answers. All we can do right now is pray. We just pray for them to find our son, so we can put him in a resting place, so that he can rest in peace. Staying here looking at the water, it’s just very painful.”
As a parent, his message to other teenagers is to be careful. “As you can see, the water is very rough. Please don’t go into that water, because your parents will feel the pain that we are now going through. We are trying our best to stay strong, it’s just so hard…so hard.”
Losing a child is very hard, he added. “To all you parents, take care of your kids, tell them not to go through this kind of water. You don’t want to go through the pain we are going through.”
According to Jerome Delos Santos, BJ and his older brother with their two friends decided to go to Marine Beach to swim.
“They did not tell us that they were coming here,” Jerome Delos Santos said. “If they had asked, I would have said no. This water is so rough. I didn’t even know he was here. They were walking to the swim hole when a big wave slammed into them, and took all of them to deep water — three of the boys managed to climb up the reef. My son Bradley was struggling. His brother tried to help him up, so he swam back to BJ, and held his hand so he could swim back, but then another wave came again and just smacked at them. When my other son put his head out of the water, his brother was gone.”
Jerome Delos Santos added, “I had to talk to my other son. I told him that he tried his best to save his younger brother. I told him to be strong. Parents, please advise your kids not to go to rough waters. I’m crying without tears. My heart is broken. It is shattered because I just lost a son — a very good boy.”
In a separate interview on Monday, Department of Public Safety public information officer Sgt. Fred Sato said despite the rough waters, the search continued.
“We currently have resources out in the water doing a search: five boats from different agencies (Customs, BECQ, DPS Boating Safety, DFEMS rescue boat, and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter). We are also conducting surface dives. We have deployed divers in the water as we speak,” Sato added.
Sato said so far, “there is no sign of anything that could lead to the recovery of the victim.”
His message to the community: “If you know the water is like this, and you know it’s not safe, don’t chance it. Mother Nature does not have a timeout, it just takes a split second for a thing to happen. Be very mindful of environmental conditions.”
A BECQ boat continues the search on Monday for 15-year-old Bradley Delos Santos who was swept by a big wave into open water on Saturday afternoon at Marine Beach.
DPS public information officer Fred Sato provides an update about the search for the missing swimmer.
