The body of a Sendai high school student who vanished during a failed dinghy outing off Miyagi Prefecture has been found, the Japan Coast Guard said Monday.
The body of Rui Sakai, 16, was found 620 meters off Kitakama Beach in Natori, the Coast Guard's Miyagi office said.
According to the police, Sakai was playing at Kitakama Beach with two friends Sunday when two of them decided to go out in a dinghy just after 10 a.m. After having trouble rowing back to shore, Sakai and the other teen, 15, decided to get back by holding onto the dinghy while kicking, but were overtaken by the waves.
The third boy, who was waiting on shore, called the police at around 12:10 p.m. after spotting the empty vessel adrift.
Sakai's 15-year-old friend, who managed to swim back to shore, was being questioned by authorities on Sunday.
Kitakama Beach became a restricted-entry area after the March 2011 tsunami.