Police divers, boats and helicopters on Tuesday were searching the water off Rockaway Beach, where the churning surf has long been a notorious site of drownings, looking for two missing teenage boys last seen in the ocean.

The initial report of three missing teens came in at 3:32 p.m. on Tuesday. When rescue crews arrived, they found one of the teenagers, a 15-year-old boy, had been rescued by a good Samaritan, the police said. A witness said the rescuer was a surfer.

That boy told officers that his friends, one 15, the other 16, were still in the water. No lifeguards have been on duty there since the end of beach season last month, a park official said.

The police, Fire Department divers and the Coast Guard began a rescue operation, with the latter sending crews from stations in Jones Beach and Sandy Hook. Police boats cruised slowly along the surf as the sun descended.