The search for a US student last seen leaping into raging surf off Bondi Beach has been suspended as Endicott Ackerman's friends cling to hope.
Witnesses said the University of Sydney student jumped off rocks at south Bondi as the weekend's wild weather subsided on Monday.
"He just jumped in when the waves were going out and when the waves came in again he went under and couldn't keep up," one told AAP.
"Then he just disappeared."
Another witness said the 20-year-old from Virginia looked like a strong swimmer but then seemed to be fighting the waves.
Emergency services including PolAir, Marine Rescue and Surf Life Saving NSW suspended their search on Wednesday afternoon.
The search will be scaled back and police divers are expected to search the area when sea conditions improve.
Police on Wednesday could not confirm reports Mr Ackerman's belongings, including a backpack, had been found on the beach.
Friends in the US will hold a candlelight vigil for "one of their own" on the Robinson Secondary School football field in his home state.
"I have faith that everything will turn out all right," Virginia student Andrew Farlow posted to Facebook.
In a separate post, friend Kennedy Amber said her thoughts were with Mr Ackerman's family, including his brothers Simon and Holden.
"Praying for Endicott's safe return," she wrote.
Meanwhile, police are yet to identify a woman whose body was found in the water at nearby Dover Heights on Tuesday afternoon.
They described her as being of Asian appearance, aged in her 20s and about 155cm tall, of slim build and with medium-length black hair.
Her death was not being treated as suspicious.
