Family breaks silence after boy swept out to sea during fishing trip at The Entrance on NSW Central Coast

The heartbroken family of an 11-year-old boy missing in waters off the NSW Central Coast say they are holding onto hope as the search enters its third day.

Laith Alaid was walking with his three younger brothers — aged three, seven and nine — and their father, 43, at The Entrance on the NSW Central Coast when disaster struck while they were crossing a channel about 5pm on Sunday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Family fishing trip to the Entrance takes a tragic turn

The family got into difficulty in the outgoing tide and, while the father managed to save three of the children, Laith was swept out to sea and could not be reached, police said.

The devastated family say their focus remains on finding their “beloved boy”.

“We are deeply moved by the community support we have received since Laith went missing at The Entrance on Sunday morning,” the Alaid family said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

“Thank you to all the volunteers, emergency services, and members of the Central Coast community who have selflessly dedicated their time and resources to the search efforts.

“We remain hopeful, and we ask the community to stay vigilant for anything that might assist in the search.”

Heartbroken relatives have told 7NEWS they are still holding onto hope amid the desperate search.

“It’s been tragic ... the past couple of days,” relative Mohammed Alhirz said.

“We would like to thank the community and local businesses, and the hotel for letting us stay overnight — it’s been a great help.”

Zeid Alhirz added the family “don’t know how to thank the community”.

“We really hope that we can find him,” he said.

“No matter what it takes, we have to find him ... we have to find him so that his father can rest easy.”

The family had been visiting and going fishing at the popular tourist spot for years, Zeid said.

“He came here by himself and with his four beautiful boys ... and he tried to save them all, he saved three and by the time he turned around he was gone ... in a split second,” he said.

The family were visiting from Sydney and fishing in the area when it is believed they took a shortcut across the channel between an estuary and the ocean.

Laith was swept away while the tide was going out.

“Lots of people try to move across that channel — it is not advised though,” Inspector David Piddington said on Monday.

While two bystanders looked after the other three children, Laith’s father tried to reach him but was unsuccessful, police said.

Witness Sarah Bailey told 7NEWS she “heard yelling and looked over and saw a man rushing through the water and then noticed a little boy in the waves with his arm up — he was really struggling”.

Fellow witness Gary Phillis said Laith “was gone in a couple of seconds and the father just was hysterical — it was horrible”.

An extensive land, air and sea search for Laith resumed about 8am on Tuesday, involving local police, surf lifesavers, water police and rescue helicopters. The search area extends about 15km south to Avoca.

Marine Rescue NSW inspector Steve Raymond said volunteers in two vessels resumed conducting parallel line searches under direction from police amid lumpy offshore conditions on Monday.

Divers recovered some of Laith’s belongings including a fishing chair, towel and esky before the search was called off at 4pm.

The Entrance is a popular weekend and holiday destination at the mouth of Tuggerah Lake about 100km north of Sydney.

— With AAP and Annie Pullar