UPDATE: The body of a swimmer who went missing has been identified as 29-year-old Robert O. Hickson of Jacksonville, according to St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. The body was found early Monday morning by deputies with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Beach Patrol Unit about a quarter mile from where the victim was last seen Sunday evening.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, Hickson was on the beach at Guana with other family members Sunday evening when he attempted to help a relative in the ocean who appeared to be "in distress." Witnesses say he then went under the water and disappeared.
The Sheriff's Office said a positive identification and cause of death is to be determined by an autopsy by the district medical examiner. This investigation is ongoing.
This story was edited to reflect updated information.
The body of a man in his 20s believed to be a swimmer who went missing Sunday was found Monday morning along a Ponte Vedra beach. The body was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy and positive identification.
St. Johns County Fire Rescue began a search operation on Sunday after the man's sister saw him disappear in the water. The search was conducted on land and in the water.
The man's name was not released.
