The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 24-year-old woman authorities said was swept out to sea on Sunday night from a beach in Santa Cruz.
The woman, Senah Park, had gathered with a group of friends at Panther State Beach, when an incoming tide knocked several of them over, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
The group had gone through a keyhole, meaning a rock arch, on the beach and became trapped in the rising tide. While three were able to escape, one was not able to, authorities said.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday morning that it had ended its extensive search of a 95-square-mile area using using motor life boats, helicopters and other equipment.
“Suspending a search is a difficult decision,” said Lt. Max Holloway, the search and rescue mission coordinator in the Coast Guard’s San Francisco sector. “We worked closely with our partner agencies and exhausted all available resources in our attempt to locate Ms. Park. Our deepest condolences are with her family and loved ones.”
The incident comes amid warnings up and down the coast of high tides and strong surf, boosted by El Niño conditions in the water, causing rip tidesand other dangerous conditions.
The sheriff’s office said deputies first responded to the reports of Park being swept out into the ocean at about 8 p.m., after which a search began involving drones, ground crews, and helicopters.
The U.S. Coast Guard said its San Francisco command center received notification of a person confirmed in the water near Panther State Beach later that evening at around 9:38 p.m.
The maritime agency said it had called off the search Monday afternoon after an eight hour coordinated effort.
Coast Guard spokesperson Christopher Sappey said the agency considers the water temperature and the size of the person to determine how long they could survive in those conditions, and also weighs the fatigue of the rescue crew and the extensiveness of the search.
“It’s based on factors of survivability in the water,” Sappey said.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s teams in the Santa Cruz area warned that ocean conditions can change in an instant, with high tides flooding beaches and cutting off escape routes quickly. Sudden “sneaker waves” can sweep far up the shoreline without warning, and narrow rock formations, caves, and alcoves can easily fill with water, the agency said.
The state fire department recommends checking daily tide schedules before arriving, and avoiding entering “confined coastal features” when the tide is rising.
“If someone falls in or gets swept out, do not enter the water to attempt a rescue yourself,” Cal Fire said in a Monday social media post. “Keep your eyes on the person’s location and call emergency services immediately.”
Two college students in June were reportedly also trapped in the keyhole at Panther State Beach, an opening in the rock that separates it from Yellow Bank Beach.
Mahial Sran, 20, a San Jose State University student, and Harshita Nair, who attended UC Berkeley, were pulled into the water by a sudden swell. Rescue swimmers were able to pull them out but they later died at a local hospital.
That incident came just a day after a five-year-old girl was pulled into the ocean and drowned in turbulent waters while walking on Treasure Island Beach in Orange County with her mother and brother.
The post Search suspended for California woman swept out to sea in high tides appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
