Long Beach surfer's body found
The body of a beloved Long Beach math teacher who disappeared while surfing off a remote Indonesian beach has been found, a friend of the man's family confirmed Thursday.
Relatives of surfer Daniel Bobis, 32, identified the remains after fishermen off the Indonesian island of Sumatra found the body Thursday morning, news reports said.
Meanwhile last night, nearly 10,000 miles away in Long Beach, where he was active in civic groups, played drums in a rock band and helped found Long Beach High School's surf club, dozens of friends and admirers carrying candles gathered at the boardwalk at Laurelton Boulevard in an impromptu vigil.
"There's so many people whose lives he touched," said lifelong friend Sean Pearsall, 32. "He was just one of the most selfless people I've ever met."
Amanda Castronovo said many girls at the school had crushes on their math teacher. "I looked forward to detention because of him," she said.
Because of his involvement in the community, grief counselors provided by the school district will roam the city boardwalks to offer solace to those distraught by Bobis' death.
Before he disappeared, Bobis apparently hit another surfer's board after emerging from the barrel of a powerful, 10-foot wave, The Associated Press said. His leash broke and his board washed to shore, his wife, Rachel, said.
Bobis' brother-in-law, Jaime Imerese, said on Facebook that the fishermen found a body on the coast, and that Bobis' wife as well as his father, stepmother and a friend, identified the remains.
A member of the Indonesian search and rescue team said the body was found about 20 miles from where Bobis had last been seen, the AP reported.
"We can confirm that his body was found today. We're still waiting for a full report on how he was found," another Indonesian search and rescue agency official told the news service.
Long Beach Public Schools issued a statement Thursday saying the district was "extremely saddened" to hear news of Bobis' death.
"He had significant impact on the lives of his students and colleagues," the district said. "He will be missed."
District counselors, social workers and psychologists will be dispatched around the boardwalks on Long Beach, and grief counselors will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday in the Long Beach High School library.
Family friend Nicholas Meola said Bobis' mother is on Long Island making funeral arrangements.
Gloria Bobis "is struggling and suffering" in the aftermath of her son's disappearance, Meola said. Meola, of Long Beach, said the family would not release more details.
Rescuers had been looking for Bobis since he disappeared Sunday while surfing near the southern tip of Sumatra.
Hundreds of friends and relatives of Bobis, an environmental activist and experienced surfer, had held vigils this week in Long Beach.
With Gary Dymski
