Lifeguards at Venice Beach, California, launched a massive search after ex-WWE superstar Shad Gaspard disappeared under the surf on Sunday.
Gaspard and his ten-year-old son were swimming off the beach at around 4 P.M. but, along with other swimmers, the pair were caught in a strong rip current. The wrestler’s son was quickly rescued from the treacherous waters, but Gaspard went under and has not been seen since, according to TMZ Sports.
One L.A. Fire Dept. official told the media that the 39-year-old wrestler “did submerge.”
Rescuers said that when they initially went into the surf to save the six-foot-six, 295-pound Gaspard, he told them to get his son to shore first. But when lifeguards returned for the wrestler, he could not be found.
Divers quickly mounted a wider search aided by a helicopter to scan the waters from above, but to no avail.
Often wrestling as “Da Beast,” Gaspard’s pro wrestling career lasted from 2002 to 2010.
Gaspard most recently made news in 2016 when he stopped an armed robbery in Florida.
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