CLEARWATER, Fla. – A passerby on Clearwater Beach made a grim discovery early Tuesday morning, bringing a tragic close to a week-long search for a missing teen. At around 7:40 a.m., the citizen spotted a body on the sand and alerted authorities. Police soon confirmed it was 18-year-old Elias Guillermo Lara Vargas, the kayaker who went missing earlier this month.
The search for Elias began on January 18, when a fun day on the water took a dangerous turn. Elias and a friend, 19-year-old Savannah Ozer, were kayaking off Honeymoon Island in Dunedin. According to deputies, the pair drifted too far from the shore and were caught in rough waves that capsized their boats.
Rescue teams were able to save Savannah that evening. She was taken to a hospital to get checked out and was later released. However, Elias disappeared into the water, sparking a massive search operation. Crews later found both kayaks empty near Caladesi Island, just south of where they had started, but there was no sign of the teen…