BATON ROUGE - Authorities are still searching for a teenager who went missing at an Alabama beach nearly two weeks ago.

McKinley Middle is planning a ceremony Thursday afternoon honoring 14-year-old Tyreke Walker, who disappeared May 21 when he was caught in a rip current at Orange Beach. Walker was celebrating his birthday with family when he disappeared. 

The incident happened shortly after beach flags were changed to reflect the dangerous conditions in the water. 

Walker's father, Clint, and a good Samaritan nearly drowned trying to pull the teen to safety.

“He’s like ‘I’m sorry, I can’t come back,’” Clint Walker said last week. “I grabbed him, and I had him, but the water was just pulling us and pulling us. Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to make it. I lost his grip. I kept getting thrown to the bottom of the water, and somehow I made it to shore, and he didn’t. I just wish I would’ve held on longer.”

Walker's family held a prayer vigil this past weekend and urged other families to stay cautious at the beach.