The male surfer in his 40s was spotted in the water by a second surfer who noticed he needed assistance, however, rough conditions prohibited him from helping.
Authorities appealed for security and dash cam footage from a neighbouring suburb as the desperate search for the senior constable entered its third night.
After three days of desperate searching, a shoeless but smiling 12-year-old Hussein Al Mansoory was found alone in a stairwell of a medical centre in Sydney's south-west.