Long Beach surfer's remains return home

The wife of the beloved Long Beach High School math teacher who died while surfing off the coast of South Sumatra returned Wednesday morning from overseas with his remains, a friend said.

Rachel Bobis, the wife of Daniel Bobis, made the initial announcement on her Facebook page. "We brought him home today," she wrote as her status update.

Friend Sean Pearsall, 32, of Long Beach, said Bobis' remains were cremated in Indonesia and a memorial will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. at the boardwalk off Laurelton Boulevard in Long Beach. He said Rachel Bobis is expected to attend. A private service for family only will be held at an undisclosed time and place.

Bobis, 32, was surfing near Tanjung Setia Beach when he disappeared July 24. He and his wife were on a vacation that would have taken them to Bali, Sumatra and Indonesia. Friends have said when they returned they planned to start a family.

Shortly after he went missing, his wife created a Facebook alert on her Facebook page seeking help finding him. The note prompted help from Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who urged embassy officials abroad to provide a helicopter search.

Before he disappeared, Bobis apparently hit another surfer's board after emerging from the barrel of a 10-foot wave, The Associated Press said. His leash broke and his board washed ashore, his wife, said.

His body was found four days later on the coast by fishermen, wrote his brother-in-law, Jaime Imerese. 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.

Bobis, an environmental activist who started a surf club at the high school, was considered an experienced surfer and an ocean lover by those who knew him. He was a co-founder of the Long Beach Surfer's Association and a member of the Sludge Stoppers Task Force, a group that advocates for clean beaches in Long Beach.