DEPOE BAY, Ore. – Counselors at two Portland schools are helping distraught students deal with the drowning of a teen who disappeared in high surf while trying to rescue an 11-year-old boy on the Oregon Coast last weekend.

Ross Barfuss, 16, of Aloha spotted the younger boy struggling in the water off Gleneden Beach Saturday and went in to help. Then, both disappeared in the 45-degree water.

Coast Guard Boatswain’s Mate Chief James Greenlief said the boys did not know each other and “this was strictly a Good Samaritan-type situation.”

A firefighter eventually found 11-year-old River Jenison and pulled him onto the shore. He was then rushed to Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital but doctors there could not save him and he was pronounced dead.

Ross Barfuss

The search continued for several hours for Barfuss, but his body was not found and he is presumed dead.

Barfuss was a junior at Aloha High School, where counselors were made available for students to talk to on Monday. One of Barfuss' brothers attends Mountain View Elementary School, where counselors were also on hand to help struggling students. The family is still at the coast, searching for the body.

Friends said they're not surprised by how Barfuss died, because he was such a caring, supportive young man.

"He was always going out of his way to try and help someone else out," one fellow student told KGW. "He was always trying to make somebody else happy."

Barfuss' family attends the Mormon church across the street from Aloha High School, where many were mourning his death. Friends were writing notes to the family and working on creating a special scrapbook.

Jenison was from the small town of Westfir, Oregon.

It was an especially dangerous weekend on the coast.

The Coast Guard rescued two kayakers near Cannon Beach after one of them capsized and the other got stuck on a rock while trying to go for help.