Two men presumed drowned

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Two young men who disappeared while swimming Saturday are presumed drowned, authorities said Monday.

A search for 24-year-old John Shua Lee and 20-year-old Shao Moua, both of Banning, was called off at sundown Saturday.

Authorities have begun efforts to recover their bodies.

At 2:38 p.m. Saturday, Huntington Beach lifeguards spotted four swimmers having trouble in high surf conditions south of the Huntington Beach Pier, said Huntington Beach Fire Department Spokesman Jeff Lopez.

Lifeguards launched a rescue effort. One male was rescued, while another man swam to shore.

Lee and Moua were apparently caught in a riptide and disappeared.

Fifteen lifeguards and eight California state guards worked together aboard five watercrafts and an Eagle helicopter to search for the men for hours without success.

Families of the missing men held a vigil on the beach into the evening.

The men were with a group from the Laos Evangelical Church attending a wedding.

—From KTLA News