The search for a 5-year-old girl who was swept away by the churning waves of a Southern California beach came to an end on Wednesday, after a 30-hour effort that included deploying helicopters and sending divers, the authorities said.
The girl, her sibling and their mother were near Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Tuesday evening when large swells overtook them. Two people who were nearby immediately jumped in and rescued the mother and one child, according to officials in Laguna Beach, a city of 22,000 people in Orange County that is about 10 miles south of Irvine.
But the 5-year-old was dragged out by the waves.
“This is one of the most heartbreaking incidents I have witnessed during my time serving this community,” Mayor Mark Orgill of Laguna Beach said in a statement.
The city dispatched marine safety personnel to the beach at about 7:30 p.m., and they began canvassing waters. Officials and emergency personnel from various agencies expanded the search area on Wednesday, sending out rescue crews despite strong currents.
Emergency workers from the Laguna Beach Marine Safety Department, the Coast Guard and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office concluded the search as the sun set on Wednesday, the authorities said. The Coast Guard estimated that the area searched extended across 90 square miles.
“Suspending a search is an extremely difficult decision,” Capt. Stacey Crecy, a sector commander for the Coast Guard, said in a statement. “We launched assets and responded as quickly as possible, continuously searching throughout the night and until sunset.”
Mr. Orgill also commended the rescue crews working in dangerous conditions and the bystanders who had rescued the mother and child.
The ocean conditions that give Orange County its status as a surfing mecca in the West Coast can also prove treacherous, said Philip Gonsalves, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. The agency warned of dangerous swells continuing on Wednesday and into Thursday, with hazardous swimming conditions, including the risk of rip currents remaining elevated through Friday.
Large waves arrive on the shores of Orange County because of the underwater geographical topography of its beaches and other weather conditions, Mr. Gonsalves said, which include ocean currents that travel thousands of miles from the southern Pacific Ocean and bring “particularly dangerous” surf.
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