Man missing from NSW beach identified as former King’s School student

An 18-year-old who went missing from a NSW beach has been identified as a former King’s School student as a search continues.

Astin Gerstl has been missing since Sunday, when he got into trouble while swimming at Little Bay Beach, Arakoon on the NSW Mid North Coast.

Astin Gerstl, an 18-year-old former King’s School student, has been missing since Sunday.Credit: The King's School

The King’s School confirmed on Tuesday that he was a member of the 2025 graduating class.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this profoundly difficult time.

“The school is in contact with the family and will continue to provide support, while respecting their request for privacy,” acting headmaster Stephen Edwards said in a statement.

Support services have been made available to current and recently graduated students, he added.

Marine Rescue NSW volunteers resumed searching on Tuesday but stood down later in the morning amid deteriorating conditions.Credit: Marine Rescue NSW

Worsening conditions on a “very treacherous part of the coastline” was hampering rescue efforts on Tuesday, NSW Police Inspector Peter Walton said.

“We’ve got highly skilled police divers, water police operators that are trained in these conditions, but obviously, they need to operate safely.

“We don’t want to have any incidents whilst we’re conducting this search for this young man.

“As the conditions allow we’ll continue to search,” Walton said.

The 18-year-old went missing from Little Bay Beach, Arakoon.Credit: Destination NSW

Volunteer rescuers stood down on Tuesday morning due to the conditions, after conducting a parallel-line search from Laggers Point to Green Island.

Little Bay Beach, in the Arakoon National Park north of Port Macquarie, is a popular picnic spot but is not patrolled or recommended for swimming, according to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

White sharks were seen in the water at the beach on Monday morning by a Surf Life Saving NSW drone.

A tagged bull shark was also detected by a receiver at nearby South West Rocks on Sunday morning.

The search for 18-year-old Gerstl follows the death of a 59-year-old man at Crescent Head, south of Arakoon on Friday afternoon.

Further south at Kylies Beach in the Crowdy Bay National Park, Swiss swimmer Livia Mühlheim, 25, was killed in a shark attack on Thursday.

Lukas Schindler, 26, survived but was bitten twice while trying to punch the shark, believed to be a bull shark.

Get alerts on breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.