Crime & Safety
Missing Aptos Teen's Death Confirmed as Ocean Suicide
Teen's body was recovered last week near pier in Santa Cruz. His bicycle was found nearby a few days earlier.
A teenage boy whose body was found last week in the ocean near a Santa Cruz County pier died as the result of suicide, according to the county coroner's office.
The coroner's office determined that Nate Phillips, 17, of Aptos, died due to drowning in seawater "facilitated by a weighted backpack," sheriff's Deputy Ryan Kennedy said.
The teen was reported missing after his family last saw him on Dec. 2. He informed them he was going on his bicycle with some supplies for "an adventure," but failed to return, Kennedy said.
Park rangers recovered his bicycle on Center Avenue and Seacliff Drive near Seacliff State Beach in Aptos on Dec. 5, prompting the sheriff's office to launch an air, land and sea search for him, deputies said.
A witness last Thursday reported seeing the teen's body floating about 100 yards out in the ocean next to the pier at Seacliff State Beach and the coroner's office recovered the body later that day, Kennedy said.
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