MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Myrtle Beach State Park is without lifeguards for the first time in four decades after the state canceled a contract with a lifeguard service that went out of business, officials say.

The Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department is trying to find another company to provide lifeguards, but no one is patrolling the beaches at the park as the busiest time of year begins, agency spokesman Marion Edmonds said.

Lifeguards from Boardwalk Beach Services had been working at the park, but the company went out of business after its owner was jailed.

"We are working to put it together as quickly as we can," Edmonds said. "At this moment, we have not been able to put together a package to have them out there."

Lifeguards have worked Myrtle Beach State Park since 1962, and the state needs to find a way to get them back out on the beach, Horry County Beach Patrol Sgt. Darris Fowler said.

"You have an expectation of safety when you are used to having a lifeguard service," Fowler said. "It would be like saying, 'We aren't going to have Highway Patrol service.'"

The canceling of the contract also has left nearby Huntington Beach State Park with fewer lifeguards, officials said.

Lifeguards do not patrol at South Carolina's other two state parks on the ocean - Edisto Beach State Park and Hunting Island State Park.