A body has been found by the coastguard off the coast of New Brighton in Merseyside, after a 14-year-old boy went missing in the water last month. Merseyside police said the body was found on Monday night, and while formal identification had yet to take place, “officers remain in contact with the family of Daniel Halliday”. The teenager went missing at Crosby beach on Sunday 30 June. He had been swimming in the River Mersey with a group of friends before getting into trouble in the water. In a statement released last week, his family said he had been jumping waves with his older brother, who had tried to save him, but that the current had been too strong. “Our worst fear is that this tragic accident has taken our lovely boy from us,” the statement said. “Daniel is a loving son, brother, cousin, nephew and grandson. The family are all devastated and we hope that we will be allowed our privacy at this time.” Merseyside police previously said that other members of the group had come out of the river, and realised they had become separated from Daniel. After the alarm was raised, a coastguard helicopter and lifeboats from the RNLI were scrambled, while fire and rescue and ambulance personnel also joined the search. Efforts were stood down after 15 hours, “pending further information”. An area of the beach close to the Seaforth radar tower was closed to the public while a search was carried out, with visitors to the area turned away from the beach. Crosby beach is a popular spot and is home to sculptor Antony Gormley’s Another Place installation, a series of 100 cast-iron figures spanning the shoreline and dotting the water facing out to sea. New Brighton, on the tip of the Wirral peninsula, lies south of Crosby on the opposite side of the mouth of the River Mersey.